Basic Usage in AI

From the Claude Code cheat sheet ยท Installation & Setup ยท verified Jul 2026

Basic Usage

Starting and using Claude Code

bash
# Start interactive session
claude

# Run one-time task
claude "refactor this function to use async/await"

# Continue most recent conversation
claude -c
claude --continue

# Resume and pick previous conversation
claude -r
claude --resume

# Non-interactive mode
claude --print "explain this codebase"

# Start in Plan Mode
claude --permission-mode plan

# Create a Git commit (ask in a session, or use the /commit slash command)
claude "commit my staged changes with a conventional message"
bash
// EXAMPLE: Refactoring a callback to async/await
$ claude "refactor this callback to use async/await"

// EXAMPLE: Continuing previous work
$ claude -c
> "Let's add error handling to that function"

// EXAMPLE: Creating a commit
$ claude commit
> Claude analyzes changes and creates commit message
๐Ÿ“Œ Interactive mode is the default
๐Ÿ“Œ Use quotes for one-time tasks
๐Ÿ” Can resume previous conversations
basics

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