Commands You'll Use Every Day
You don't need to memorize these. Just know they exist and bookmark this page for reference.
ccx
Start Claude Code with your new settings. Typing "claude" works too. The safety rules apply either way.
/btw
Quick side question without using tokens from your main task. Ask something fast, get an answer, stay focused.
Escape
Stop Claude in the middle and redirect. If Claude is going the wrong way, press Escape and rephrase.
handoff
Save progress in the middle of a task without closing up. Creates a summary so a fresh session picks up exactly where you left off.
reaudit
Before you trust important work, type this. Several separate checkers, each taking one part of the work (for a website: the text, the videos, the live site in each browser), try to break it, and Claude fixes what they prove is wrong. Type "reaudit project" to check the whole project.
reaudit loop
For work that could cost you money or clients (live sites, payments, client emails, production). Claude runs the reaudit, fixes what is proven, then checks again with new checkers, until a round finds no major problem (up to 4 rounds). Uses much more of your plan. Claude may offer it when the stakes are high.
sort deadlines
Marks this project's real deadlines with a date and ranks the rest by priority, so every new session shows what is due, what Claude does next and what needs you.
end session
Use it when you're done for the day. Tidies all the project notes, saves a handoff note if work is unfinished, then saves everything to GitHub.
Most of these you'll pick up naturally. The key ones to remember: ccx to start, and end session to save your work.
Understanding context usage
The status bar at the bottom shows your context usage as a percentage. Think of it as how full your conversation is. As you work, it fills up.
When it passes about 40% (or 250K tokens on a big window), type end session, then /clear (in the desktop app: + New). Claude also suggests this once when it gets there. It saves your work and notes so the fresh conversation picks up where you left off. Work still open? Type handoff instead, then /clear and read handoff.
Do not wait for it to fill up completely. This setup turns off automatic compressing, so a very long conversation just gets slower, costlier and more error-prone. Saving and starting fresh at 40% (or 250K tokens) keeps Claude sharp and saves plan usage.