Every Claude Code slash command, ordered by how often you actually use it

Originally published at https://aicoding-guide.com.

The official Claude Code command reference lists more than 110 slash commands. You do not need to know them all. About six come up every day; the rest are things you look up when something goes wrong. This article regroups the official list by how often you actually reach for each one.

One thing to get out of the way first: the built-in command list has moved.

Key point
What you will learn

• Where the official list lives, and how to read <arg> versus [arg]
• The six commands you use in every session, and their arguments
• What the Skill and Workflow markers mean, and why availability differs per person

Where the list lives and how to read it

The official built-in command reference is at https://code.claude.com/docs/en/commands. The /docs/en/slash-commands URL now serves a page titled "Extend Claude with skills", which has no built-in commands table. That page points you onward itself: "For built-in commands like /help and /compact, and bundled skills like /debug and /code-review, see the commands reference".

The table has just two columns, Command and Purpose. Argument notation is fixed.

Notation	Meaning
<arg>	Required. The docs say "<arg> indicates a required argument"
[arg]	Optional. "[arg] indicates an optional one"

From inside the CLI, /help gives you "Show help and available commands". When you want to know what you actually have rather than what exists, that is the reliable source.

The six you use every session

Learn these and day-to-day work is covered.

Command	What the docs say (condensed)	When to reach for it
/clear [name]	Start a new conversation with empty context. A name labels the previous conversation in the /resume picker. Aliases /reset, /new	Switching to unrelated work
/compact [instructions]	"Free up context by summarizing the conversation so far". You can pass focus instructions for the summary	Freeing context without losing the thread
/context [all]	Visualize context usage as a colored grid. Past the context window, the output warns how far over you are and which command frees space	Finding out what made the session heavy
/model [model]	Switch model and save it as the default for new sessions. With no argument a picker opens; press s on a row to switch for this session only	Before and after a hard task
/resume [session]	Resume a conversation by ID or name, or open the session picker. Alias /continue	Picking up yesterday's work
/rewind	Rewind the conversation and/or code to a previous point, or summarize from a selected message. Aliases /checkpoint, /undo	After Claude heads the wrong way

The split between /clear and /compact is stated right in the /clear entry: "To free up context while continuing the same conversation, use /compact instead." One discards the conversation; the other summarizes and keeps it. For the longer version see Managing context in Claude Code with /compact versus /clear.

To move the threshold where automatic compaction fires, use /autocompact [auto|<tokens>]. Pass a size such as 500k, or auto to return to the window tuned for your model; the value is saved to user settings and applied to the current session. Requires Claude Code v2.1.221 or later.

Checking settings, permissions and usage

The next most frequent group answers "what is the state of things right now".

Command	What the docs say (condensed)
/permissions	Interactive dialog for allow, ask and deny rules. View rules by scope, add or remove them, manage working directories, and review recent auto mode denials. The Auto mode tab also shows and edits classifier rules. Alias /allowed-tools
/config [key=value ...]	Open the Settings interface, or set a value directly without opening it, such as /config theme=dark. /config --help lists the keys it accepts. Alias /settings
/status	Open Settings on the Status tab: version, model, account and connectivity. Works while Claude is responding
/usage	Usage. /cost is "Alias for /usage", and /stats opens it on the Stats tab
/memory	Edit CLAUDE.md files, enable or disable auto memory, and view auto memory entries
/hooks	View hook configurations
/mcp	Manage MCP server connections and OAuth. Pass reconnect, enable or disable with a server name or all to change state without opening the list
/add-dir <path>	Add a working directory for file access during this session. Partial paths suggest matches; Tab accepts one
/cd <path>	Move the session to a new working directory, keeping the conversation

/add-dir carries a caveat worth knowing: "Most .claude/ configuration isn't discovered from the added directory." For reading the permissions dialog, see Claude Code /permissions shows every rule and the settings file it came from.

Handing the work itself over, with Skills and Workflows

Some rows in the list carry a marker. The official definitions:

Glossary
Skill: "a bundled skill. It works like skills you write yourself: a prompt handed to Claude."

Workflow: "a bundled dynamic workflow that fans work out across many subagents and runs in the background."

Both only run on demand — the docs make the point with /verify and /deep-research: "runs only when you invoke it."

Command	Kind	What it does
/code-review	Skill	Review the current diff, or a PR number, branch or path you pass, for correctness bugs. --fix applies findings, --comment posts them to the PR or merge request. Alias /review
/simplify [target]	Skill	Review changed code for cleanup opportunities and apply the fixes, with four review agents in parallel. "The review doesn't look for correctness bugs" — that is /code-review's job
/debug [description]	Skill	Turn on debug logging for this session and troubleshoot from the log. Logging is off by default, so running it mid-session captures from that point forward
/doctor	Skill	A setup checkup over installation, settings, extension and CLAUDE.md problems, proposing fixes you confirm. Alias /checkup
/batch <instruction>	Skill	Parallelize a large change: decompose into 5 to 30 independent units, present a plan, then run one background subagent per unit in an isolated worktree
/deep-research <question>	Workflow	Fan out web searches, fetch and cross-check sources, and synthesize a cited report
/security-review	—	Analyze the changes on your current branch for security vulnerabilities. Needs an origin remote

To build commands on the same mechanism yourself, see Create your own slash commands in Claude Code with a single Markdown file.

Commands that never appear, and ones that went away

A command can be in the list and still be missing from your session. That is by design: "Not every command appears for every user. Availability depends on your platform, plan, and environment." The docs give two examples.

• /desktop shows only on macOS and x64 Windows, signed in with a Claude subscription
• /upgrade does not show on Enterprise plans

Some commands are genuinely gone.

Command	Status
/pr-comments	Removed in v2.1.91. Ask Claude directly to view pull request comments
/ultraplan	Removed. Use plan mode instead
/agents	Now "Print a reminder to ask Claude to create or manage subagents". On v2.1.197 and earlier it opened an interactive management interface

Some commands are only hidden from the menu
/heapdump, /setup-bedrock and /setup-vertex are documented as "Hidden from the command menu" — they do not autocomplete, but typing them in full works. Setting CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK=1 or CLAUDE_CODE_USE_VERTEX=1 makes the matching wizard appear in the menu.

Summary

• The official built-in list is at /docs/en/commands; /docs/en/slash-commands is now the skills page
• The table has two columns, and <arg> is required while [arg] is optional
• The daily six are /clear, /compact, /context, /model, /resume and /rewind
• Skill means a prompt handed to Claude; Workflow means work fanned out across subagents. Both run only when invoked
• Platform, plan and environment decide what you see, so check your own list with /help