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Command-line reference

This page is the table-first companion to Commands and flags. It centralizes the source-visible root flags, command families, aliases, and mode-specific CLI surfaces so narrative pages can link here instead of repeating long option lists.

Scope and caveats

This is a source-anchored reference for the analyzed cli.renamed.js bundle, not a replacement for live claude --help output.
Hidden and feature-gated options are included when existing docs have direct anchors.
The bundle is minified, so approximate line numbers and byte offsets are search handles rather than stable public API names.

Source anchors

Semantic alias	Anchor	Meaning
CommanderRoot	`async function w4A`	Commander root construction and mode routing.
ClaudeRootCommand	`H.name("claude")`	Root command name and description.
PrintModeFlag	`-p, --print`	Selects non-interactive print/headless mode.
ToolAllowListFlag	`--allowedTools, --allowed-tools <tools...>`	Tool allow-list flag.
PermissionModeFlag	`--permission-mode <mode>`	Session permission mode selector.
ContinueSessionFlag	`-c, --continue`	Continue the most recent conversation in the current directory.
ResumeSessionFlag	`-r, --resume [value]`	Resume by session ID or open picker/search.
RemoteSessionFlag	`--remote [description\|session_id\|url]`	Remote session creation/attach flag.
RemoteControlFlag	`--remote-control [name]`	Remote Control flag.
DoctorCommand	`H.command("doctor")`	Auto-updater health check command.
UpdateCommandFamily	`H.command("update").alias("upgrade")`	Update/upgrade command family.

Root invocation modes

Mode	Representative surface	Behavior
Interactive TUI	default TTY invocation	Starts the interactive session loop after trust/auth/settings/context setup.
Headless/print	`-p`, `--print`	Runs the scriptable path with stdout result/stream framing.
SDK-style headless	`--sdk-url`, stream/control frames	Exposes structured frames and control requests for external hosts.
Resume/continue	`--continue`, `--resume`, `--session-id`	Restores a local JSONL session into the live envelope.
Remote/teleport/control	`--remote`, `--teleport`, `--remote-control`, `--rc`	Adds bridge/session-ingress control around the same session model.

Root flag families

Family	Flags	Primary owner
Diagnostics	`-d, --debug [filter]`, `--debug-file`, `--debug-to-stderr`, `--mcp-debug`, `--verbose`	Diagnostics and debug logs
Headless/SDK output	`-p, --print`, `--output-format`, `--input-format`, `--json-schema`, `--sdk-url`, `--include-partial-messages`, `--session-mirror`	Headless streaming and resilience
Thinking and budget	`--thinking`, `--thinking-display`, `--max-thinking-tokens`, `--max-turns`, `--max-budget-usd`, `--task-budget`	Model selection, calls, usage, quota, and billing
Tools and permissions	`--tools`, `--allowedTools`, `--allowed-tools`, `--disallowedTools`, `--disallowed-tools`, `--permission-mode`, `--permission-prompt-tool`, `--dangerously-skip-permissions`	Tool inventory and schemas
Prompt and context	`--system-prompt`, `--system-prompt-file`, `--append-system-prompt`, `--append-system-prompt-file`, `--add-dir`, `--exclude-dynamic-system-prompt-sections`, `--plan-mode-instructions`	Prompt assembly scenarios
Sessions	`-c, --continue`, `-r, --resume`, `--fork-session`, `--no-session-persistence`, `--resume-session-at`, `--rewind-files`, `--session-id`, `--name`	Session resume and transcripts
Models and auth	`--model`, `--fallback-model`, `--betas`	Models, providers, and auth
Settings and integrations	`--settings`, `--managed-settings`, `--setting-sources`, `--mcp-config`, `--strict-mcp-config`, `--plugin-dir`, `--plugin-url`, `--agents`, `--ide`, `--chrome`, `--file`	Settings schema reference
Remote and deep links	`--remote`, `--teleport`, `--remote-control`, `--rc`, `--remote-control-session-name-prefix`, `--prefill`, `--deep-link-origin`	Remote control and teleport

Command families

Command	Anchor	Runtime role
`auth`	`H.command("auth")`	Login, logout, and status flows for account credentials.
`mcp`	`McpCommandRegistrar`	Manages MCP servers and can start the Claude Code MCP server.
`mcp serve`	`command("serve")`, line ~9173, byte `0xbf3ccb`	Starts the Claude Code MCP server.
`mcp add-from-claude-desktop`	line ~9173, byte `0xbf44e2`	Imports MCP servers from Claude Desktop config.
`plugin` / `plugins`	`PluginCommandRegistrar`	Manages plugins, marketplaces, local/session plugins, and plugin capabilities.
`project purge [path]`	`H.command("project")`	Deletes project-scoped Claude Code state.
`setup-token`	`H.command("setup-token")`	Sets up a long-lived authentication token flow.
`agents`	`H.command("agents")`	Opens/manages background agents and dispatched sessions.
`ultrareview [target]`	`H.command("ultrareview [target]")`	Runs cloud-hosted multi-agent code review.
`auto-mode`	`H.command("auto-mode")`	Inspects or critiques auto-mode classifier configuration.
`remote-control` / `rc`	`H.command("remote-control", {hidden: true}).alias("rc")`	Starts local-session Remote Control.
`doctor`	`H.command("doctor")`	Checks auto-updater and related health state.
`update` / `upgrade`	`H.command("update").alias("upgrade")`	Checks for and installs updates.
`install [target]`	`H.command("install [target]")`	Installs a stable/latest/specific native build.

Aliases and spelling variants

Alias or variant	Canonical surface
`upgrade`	`update`
`rc`	`remote-control`
`--rc [name]`	`--remote-control [name]`
`--allowed-tools`	`--allowedTools`
`--disallowed-tools`	`--disallowedTools`

Parse-time optimization

CommanderRoot has a fast path for -p/--print: when print mode is selected and no cc:// or cc+unix:// URI argument is present, the root options can be parsed before the heavier subcommand tree is registered. This keeps common headless runs lighter.

Created and maintained by Yingting Huang.