--add-dir | Add additional working directories for Claude to access (validates each path exists as a directory) | claude --add-dir ../apps ../lib |
--agent | Specify an agent for the current session (overrides the agent setting) | claude --agent my-custom-agent |
--agents | Define custom subagents dynamically via JSON. Uses the same field names as subagent frontmatter, plus a prompt field for the agent’s instructions | claude --agents '{"reviewer":{"description":"Reviews code","prompt":"You are a code reviewer"}}' |
--allow-dangerously-skip-permissions | Enable permission bypassing as an option without immediately activating it. Allows composing with --permission-mode (use with caution) | claude --permission-mode plan --allow-dangerously-skip-permissions |
--allowedTools | Tools that execute without prompting for permission. See permission rule syntax for pattern matching. To restrict which tools are available, use --tools instead | "Bash(git log *)" "Bash(git diff *)" "Read" |
--append-system-prompt | Append custom text to the end of the default system prompt | claude --append-system-prompt "Always use TypeScript" |
--append-system-prompt-file | Load additional system prompt text from a file and append to the default prompt | claude --append-system-prompt-file ./extra-rules.txt |
--betas | Beta headers to include in API requests (API key users only) | claude --betas interleaved-thinking |
--channels | (Research preview) MCP servers whose channel notifications Claude should listen for in this session. Space-separated list of plugin:<name>@<marketplace> entries. Requires Claude.ai authentication | claude --channels plugin:my-notifier@my-marketplace |
--chrome | Enable Chrome browser integration for web automation and testing | claude --chrome |
--continue, -c | Load the most recent conversation in the current directory | claude --continue |
--dangerously-load-development-channels | Enable channels that are not on the approved allowlist, for local development. Accepts plugin:<name>@<marketplace> and server:<name> entries. Prompts for confirmation | claude --dangerously-load-development-channels server:webhook |
--dangerously-skip-permissions | Skip permission prompts (use with caution). See permission modes for what this does and does not skip | claude --dangerously-skip-permissions |
--debug | Enable debug mode with optional category filtering (for example, "api,hooks" or "!statsig,!file") | claude --debug "api,mcp" |
--disable-slash-commands | Disable all skills and commands for this session | claude --disable-slash-commands |
--disallowedTools | Tools that are removed from the model’s context and cannot be used | "Bash(git log *)" "Bash(git diff *)" "Edit" |
--effort | Set the effort level for the current session. Options: low, medium, high, max (Opus 4.6 only). Session-scoped and does not persist to settings | claude --effort high |
--fallback-model | Enable automatic fallback to specified model when default model is overloaded (print mode only) | claude -p --fallback-model sonnet "query" |
--fork-session | When resuming, create a new session ID instead of reusing the original (use with --resume or --continue) | claude --resume abc123 --fork-session |
--from-pr | Resume sessions linked to a specific GitHub PR. Accepts a PR number or URL. Sessions are automatically linked when created via gh pr create | claude --from-pr 123 |
--ide | Automatically connect to IDE on startup if exactly one valid IDE is available | claude --ide |
--init | Run initialization hooks and start interactive mode | claude --init |
--init-only | Run initialization hooks and exit (no interactive session) | claude --init-only |
--include-partial-messages | Include partial streaming events in output (requires --print and --output-format=stream-json) | claude -p --output-format stream-json --include-partial-messages "query" |
--input-format | Specify input format for print mode (options: text, stream-json) | claude -p --output-format json --input-format stream-json |
--json-schema | Get validated JSON output matching a JSON Schema after agent completes its workflow (print mode only, see structured outputs) | claude -p --json-schema '{"type":"object","properties":{...}}' "query" |
--maintenance | Run maintenance hooks and exit | claude --maintenance |
--max-budget-usd | Maximum dollar amount to spend on API calls before stopping (print mode only) | claude -p --max-budget-usd 5.00 "query" |
--max-turns | Limit the number of agentic turns (print mode only). Exits with an error when the limit is reached. No limit by default | claude -p --max-turns 3 "query" |
--mcp-config | Load MCP servers from JSON files or strings (space-separated) | claude --mcp-config ./mcp.json |
--model | Sets the model for the current session with an alias for the latest model (sonnet or opus) or a model’s full name | claude --model claude-sonnet-4-6 |
--name, -n | Set a display name for the session, shown in /resume and the terminal title. You can resume a named session with claude --resume <name>.
/rename changes the name mid-session and also shows it on the prompt bar | claude -n "my-feature-work" |
--no-chrome | Disable Chrome browser integration for this session | claude --no-chrome |
--no-session-persistence | Disable session persistence so sessions are not saved to disk and cannot be resumed (print mode only) | claude -p --no-session-persistence "query" |
--output-format | Specify output format for print mode (options: text, json, stream-json) | claude -p "query" --output-format json |
--permission-mode | Begin in a specified permission mode | claude --permission-mode plan |
--permission-prompt-tool | Specify an MCP tool to handle permission prompts in non-interactive mode | claude -p --permission-prompt-tool mcp_auth_tool "query" |
--plugin-dir | Load plugins from a directory for this session only. Each flag takes one path. Repeat the flag for multiple directories: --plugin-dir A --plugin-dir B | claude --plugin-dir ./my-plugins |
--print, -p | Print response without interactive mode (see Agent SDK documentation for programmatic usage details) | claude -p "query" |
--remote | Create a new web session on claude.ai with the provided task description | claude --remote "Fix the login bug" |
--remote-control, --rc | Start an interactive session with Remote Control enabled so you can also control it from claude.ai or the Claude app. Optionally pass a name for the session | claude --remote-control "My Project" |
--resume, -r | Resume a specific session by ID or name, or show an interactive picker to choose a session | claude --resume auth-refactor |
--session-id | Use a specific session ID for the conversation (must be a valid UUID) | claude --session-id "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000" |
--setting-sources | Comma-separated list of setting sources to load (user, project, local) | claude --setting-sources user,project |
--settings | Path to a settings JSON file or a JSON string to load additional settings from | claude --settings ./settings.json |
--strict-mcp-config | Only use MCP servers from --mcp-config, ignoring all other MCP configurations | claude --strict-mcp-config --mcp-config ./mcp.json |
--system-prompt | Replace the entire system prompt with custom text | claude --system-prompt "You are a Python expert" |
--system-prompt-file | Load system prompt from a file, replacing the default prompt | claude --system-prompt-file ./custom-prompt.txt |
--teleport | Resume a web session in your local terminal | claude --teleport |
--teammate-mode | Set how agent team teammates display: auto (default), in-process, or tmux. See set up agent teams | claude --teammate-mode in-process |
--tools | Restrict which built-in tools Claude can use. Use "" to disable all, "default" for all, or tool names like "Bash,Edit,Read" | claude --tools "Bash,Edit,Read" |
--verbose | Enable verbose logging, shows full turn-by-turn output | claude --verbose |
--version, -v | Output the version number | claude -v |
--worktree, -w | Start Claude in an isolated git worktree at <repo>/.claude/worktrees/<name>. If no name is given, one is auto-generated | claude -w feature-auth |
