I've been using Claude Code more than any other AI agents recently.
And when it's the tool you use the most, it just makes sense to make that workflow as productive as possible.
A lot of the experience comes down to the small tools around it. The ones that help you search, navigate, review diffs, watch system usage, or just keep your workflow clean.
So this post is a simple list of the CLI tools I think pair really nicely with Claude Code.
There's an awesome repo with a curated collection of CLI tools for coding agents: awesome-agent-clis
What does "tools for Claude Code" actually mean?
Claude Code is already powerful on its own.
But it gets even better when you pair it with the right terminal tools, especially since you’re already working in the terminal.
I’m not talking about tools built specifically for Claude Code.
I mean the CLI tools that make the overall workflow smoother, faster, and easier to manage while Claude is working in your repo.
1. GitHub CLI
ℹ️ GitHub’s official CLI for working from the terminal.
What it is?
GitHub CLI is basically running GitHub from your terminal. You can create repos, check issues, review PRs, manage branches, and handle a bunch of GitHub workflow stuff without leaving your shell.
It can be as simple as:
gh repo create
for creating a new repository through an interactive prompt, which is one I use the most. And there are tons of other commands you can use.
Find all the others in the help window.
gh --help
Why use it with Claude Code?
This one probably will not be for everyone.
A lot of people do not want to give Claude access to their GitHub repos, and that is totally fair. But if you are comfortable with it, I honestly think it is one of the best tools to pair with Claude Code.
Or even if you do not want Claude directly using it, GitHub CLI is still great to have beside Claude Code since you can just run the commands yourself and keep moving without leaving the terminal.
2. Composio
ℹ️ An MCP server that connects Claude Code to hundreds of external apps.
What it is?
Composio is an MCP server you can add to Claude Code so it can work with 500+ apps.
You can find the guide on how to connect Composio with Claude Code here: Composio Universal CLI
Why use it with Claude Code?
The main way I use Composio with Claude Code is for email.
Say I am working on something and need to send a mail to someone.
Without this, I would usually have to stop, open my mail client, write the message, double check it, and send it myself.
With Composio set up inside Claude Code, I can just ask Claude to draft the email, or give it the content and the recipient, and it can handle the rest for me.
And maybe most importantly, no more spelling mistakes in your emails. 😃
That is the workflow I use the most.
Since you have 500+ app access, you can already imagine how many other things you could automate from there.
They recently added CLI support as well, which you can install here: Composio CLI
For development, Composio provides a playground with test users, execution logs, and real-time trigger streaming so you can iterate on agent behaviour locally before going to production.
3. ripgrep
ℹ️ The fastest way to search through a codebase from the terminal.
What it is?
It is a ridiculously fast search tool for the terminal.
It lets you search through files, code, and folders almost instantly.
If you have ever used grep, which I assume you have, it's a complete and faster replacement for that in real world repos.
A simple example:
rg "useEffect"
That will search for useEffect across your entire project and show you where it appears.
Why use it with Claude Code?
This is one of the first tools I'd install.
When working on a real world repo, you are constantly searching for things. Function names, config, and whatnot.
ripgrep basically makes that fast.
Even Claude Code defaults to using this tool when searching for things in its workflow. Overall, it is just super handy to have a quick way to move around the repo yourself without digging around manually.
4. tmux
ℹ️ A better way to manage terminal sessions.
What it is?
tmux lets you run multiple terminal sessions inside one terminal.
You can split panes, open multiple windows, switch between them quickly, and keep everything organized without opening a bunch of separate terminal tabs.
It might feel a little unnecessary at first. But once you get used to it, there is no way back.
Why use it with Claude Code?
For me, tmux is one of the most useful tools to pair with Claude Code, and it is actually what is running in my terminal right now as I work on this blog inside Neovim. 👀
I usually have Claude in a pane, with Neovim or a server running in one window, Lazygit in another, and then some extra panes for running commands.
If you use Neovim, it gets even better. You can have Claude open in one split and Neovim in another. As Claude makes changes, if you need to edit something, Neovim is right there. And for diffs or Git work, Lazygit is sitting in another window.
How cool is that?
You are not constantly jumping between tabs or losing track of what is running where.
5. FFmpeg
ℹ️ The go-to CLI tool for handling just about any media file.
What it is?
Honestly, this is one of the best tools I have added to my workflow recently.
FFmpeg is a command line tool for working with media files. You can use it to convert images from one format to another, like PNG to JPG, convert video formats, compress files, trim audio, and do all sorts of file processing.
It supports basically every format you can think of.
As developers, we end up doing this kind of stuff all the time. And having one tool that handles all of it from the terminal is just super handy.
💡 FUN FACT: Almost all the online media tools that you use on the internet, like online video compressors and similar stuff, are powered by FFmpeg under the hood.
Once you have it in your terminal, you really don't need to ever visit such sites.
Why use it with Claude Code?
The only catch is that FFmpeg commands are a little complex.
Even for a simple task, the syntax is just a little too much to understand.
Here's a quick command to crop a video file:
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "crop=1280:720:0:0" -c:a copy output.mp4
That is exactly where Claude Code becomes useful.
You can just describe what you want in plain English, and let Claude generate the right FFmpeg command for you.
6. Lazygit
ℹ️ A simple TUI for Git
What it is?
Lazygit is a terminal UI for Git.
It gives you a much nicer way to handle things like commits, branches, stashing, rebasing, and reviewing changes without typing every Git command manually.
You still stay in the terminal.
It just makes the whole Git workflow super easy, and you do not need to remember and type out any commands. Just knowing the concepts is enough.
Why use it with Claude Code?
This is one I always have open beside Claude Code.
When Claude makes a lot of changes in a bunch of files, Lazygit makes it easier to review everything, stage only what you want, and manage the overall Git workflow.
I usually keep Lazygit open in every session inside tmux, in its own window, so I can quickly jump there and handle Git stuff whenever I need to.
I will talk about tmux a bit later in the list, but this combo works really well.
7. btop
ℹ️ A much better way to monitor your system
What it is?
btop is a system monitor for the terminal.
It gives you a clean view of CPU, memory, disk, network, and running processes, all in one place.
There is also htop, which a lot of people already know and use. But personally, I prefer btop.
It just feels a bit more user friendly, and overall nicer and easier to filter down processes.
Why use it with Claude Code?
When you are doing a lot inside the terminal, especially with bigger repos, it is really useful to keep an eye on system usage.
That might be Claude, any processes it launches with your permission, local servers, or anything else running in the background.
btop gives you a quick way to see what is eating memory, what is using CPU, and whether your machine is starting to struggle, especially when you're using local models.
8. fzf
ℹ️ The backbone of fuzzy finding in the terminal
What it is?
I have probably been using this tool longer than any other in this list.
fzf is a command line fuzzy finder.
It lets you search and pick things interactively from the terminal.
That could be files, directories, Git branches, command history, processes, or really anything you can pipe into it.
If you haven't heard about this tool or have never used it, you are doing something wrong 😏.
A simple example:
find . -type f | fzf
This gives you a fuzzy searchable list of files in the current directory.
Why use it with Claude Code?
This is one of those tools that just makes terminal workflows feel faster.
Whether I am jumping between files, searching through something, or picking from a long list of options, fzf is usually involved somewhere. I have so many scripts built around fzf.
And when you are already spending a lot of time in the terminal with Claude Code, that kind of speed matters.
It is not really a Claude specific tool. It is one of the foundations that make working in the terminal and overall moving between things a lot better.
9. (Optional) LLMFit
ℹ️ Handy if you are experimenting with local or custom models alongside Claude Code.
What it is?
LLMFit is a CLI tool that scans your system hardware and tells you which local AI models you can run smoothly on your system.
If you are planning to run a local model, it is a nice way to avoid downloading something that your system will struggle with. Its whole purpose is to help match models to the machine you have.
Installing is as simple as:
pip install llmfit
Now, to scan your hardware against models, run this:
llmfit scan
and it will list out all the models with their metadata and performance scores based on your hardware.
Why use it with Claude Code?
This one is definitely more niche.
But if you are running Claude Code with a local or custom model setup, it can help you figure out what will run well on your machine before you waste time downloading the wrong model.
It is not something everyone will need, but for people who prefer the Claude Code agent and want to test newer local or custom models from other providers, this is an option as well.
You can find many guides on doing that. One that I referenced while trying it out is by Luong NGUYEN.
A few more nice ones
There are also a few other terminal tools I use a lot that I did not want to give a full section to, but they are still very much part of the overall workflow.
Things like fd, zoxide, eza, yazi, and bat all make the terminal feel nicer to work in.
Some help you move around directories faster. Some make listing files, previewing content, or moving around in the filesystem way better than the default.
I leave it up to you to research these tools.
None of these are Claude Code specific.
Ones I'd install first
If I had to set this up again from scratch, I’d probably start with ripgrep, GitHub CLI, tmux, and Lazygit.
That already covers a lot of the core workflow around Claude Code.
And separately, I’d also set up Composio.
It’s a bit different from the rest here. It’s not exactly just another CLI tool, but more of an MCP server. Really useful if you want to automate parts of your workflow and connect Claude to external tools in a cleaner way.
Final thoughts
You definitely do not need every tool in this list.
But a few of them can make working with Claude Code a lot smoother, especially once you start using it more seriously.
At the end of the day, it’s really just about making the workflow around Claude feel cleaner and easier to manage.
Top comments (5)
What do you think of these? Lmk your choices or anything I've missed including in this blog
I think the tool is supposed to be exa. that's the replacement to ls in linux
You're correct. But exa is no longer maintained. eza is the maintained fork of eza. hope that helps
Here's the link to eza: github.com/eza-community/eza
thanks for sharing tmux