Slash & bang commands

Everything you can type into the message input that isn't a plain prompt: built-in / commands, your own custom commands, Claude CLI command passthrough, and ! shell commands.

Built-in slash commands

These are handled entirely by the web client — they never reach Claude as a prompt.

Command	Description
/help	Show help and keyboard shortcuts
/clear	Archive the session and start fresh in the same project
/compact [instructions]	Ask Claude to summarize the conversation (optional focus instructions)
/new	Create a new session
/fork	Fork the session — branch the conversation
/fork-compact [instructions]	Fork the session, then compact the copy (branch + summarize)
/clone [text]	Clone the session (same project, fresh chat); add text to send it immediately
/plan [text]	Enter plan mode — explore and design before coding (see input modes)
/btw [question]	Side question — fork a quick discussion thread without selecting text
/login	Sign in to Anthropic — opens an interactive terminal
/logout	Sign out of Anthropic — opens an interactive terminal

Resolution order

When you send something starting with /, the client resolves it in three steps:

1. Built-in commands (the table above) — highest priority.
2. Custom commands from your command store; a project-scoped command beats a global one with the same name.
3. Claude CLI passthrough — anything else starting with / is sent to Claude as a regular message, so CLI-side commands (built-ins like /cost, plus your own from ~/.claude/commands/) work unchanged.

The / autocomplete popup lists all three groups in the same priority order, with duplicates shadowed by the higher-priority definition.

Custom commands

You can define your own slash commands, stored per browser (localStorage). Two types:

Type	What it does
Prompt	Expands a prompt template and sends it to Claude
Shell	Expands a command template and runs it via /api/exec (same machinery as bang commands)

Template variables

Both types support {variable} placeholders, expanded at run time:

Variable	Expands to
{input}	Everything you typed after the command name
{cwd}	The session's working directory
{session}	The session ID
{date}	Current date (YYYY-MM-DD)
{time}	Current time (HH:MM, 24-hour)
{timestamp}	Full ISO 8601 timestamp

Scope

Commands are global (all projects) or project-scoped (only when the session's working directory matches). Project commands take priority over a global command with the same name. The command store also supports JSON export/import for backing up or sharing definitions — duplicates are skipped on merge.

Prebuilt templates

The client ships starter templates you can use as-is or adapt:

Command	Type	Description
/explain	Prompt	Explain code or a concept ({input})
/review	Prompt	Code review for bugs, performance, security, style
/test	Prompt	Generate unit tests using the project's framework
/fix	Prompt	Fix an issue and explain the change
/doc	Prompt	Generate documentation with parameters and examples
/simplify	Prompt	Simplify code while preserving behavior
/status	Shell	git status
/diff	Shell	git diff
/log	Shell	git log --oneline -10
/branches	Shell	git branch -a

Note

The Commands panel (Alt+Shift+K) lists every command visible to the session — app built-ins, project and personal CLI commands, plugin commands, and your custom commands — but custom commands appear read-only there. Custom-command definitions live in the browser's command store.

Bang commands

Prefix a line with ! to run a shell command directly, without asking Claude:

!git status

• Runs via POST /api/exec in the session's working directory.
• Output appears in the chat as a collapsible tool block (truncated at 3,000 characters); a non-zero exit code is flagged.
• The output is also buffered as context for your next prompt — run a few commands, then type a normal message and Claude receives the commands and their output along with it. The input placeholder shows how many commands are buffered.
• Your last 10 bang commands are kept as a recent-shell history, offered as autocomplete when you type !.

Danger

Bang commands execute as the user running the server, with no permission gate. See security.

Input modes

Two prefixes switch the input into a dedicated compose mode (the input is restyled and the prefix is hidden while you type):

Mode	Trigger	Behavior
Shell	Type ! at the start	Everything you type is treated as a shell command
Plan	Type /plan at the start	The permission UI flips to plan mode; your text is sent as a planning prompt. A bare /plan just switches the session to plan permissions

Press Backspace on an empty input to exit the mode.

Pickers

Four trigger characters open inline pickers; Tab in an empty input cycles through them so you can browse without committing:

Trigger	Picker
#	Snippets & agents
/	Commands
@	Files (mention a file path)
$	Skills

See Writing prompts & commands for the full input walkthrough.