Free Download · Cheat Sheet

Claude Code Command Card.

The one-page reference for using Claude Code without the fear. Pin it next to your terminal — the commands, the safe defaults, and the workflow that keeps you in control.

↳ Companion to the Claude Code Confidence course

🛟 The one habit that keeps you safe

Ask→Review→Approve

Never let an agent run blind. It proposes, you review what it wants to do (especially anything that deletes, installs, spends, or touches the internet), then you approve before it runs. Speed never outruns judgment.

⌨️ Essential commands

claude

Start an interactive session in the current project folder.

claude -p "task"

Run one task and exit (great for quick, scoped jobs).

claude -c

Continue your most recent session.

/resume

Reopen an earlier session from inside the CLI.

/clear

Start fresh — and make Claude re-read your CLAUDE.md.

/compact

Summarize a long session without losing the main thread.

/plan

Ask for a plan (files, risks, steps) before any edits happen.

claude --version · claude doctor

Check your install and diagnose setup issues.

🔐 Permissions — start safe

Ask mode

The beginner default. Claude requests approval for writes & shell actions.

Allowlist

Pre-approve narrow, repeatable, safe actions only (e.g. read + one test command).

Skip permissions

⚠ Reserve for tightly-controlled automation. Never for everyday learning.

A safe starter allowlist (in settings) { "permissions": { "allow": [ "Read", "Glob", "Grep", "Bash(npm test*)" ] } }

⚠ Never allowlist Bash(*) — it permits any shell command. And never paste API keys or secrets into a prompt or a project file; they belong in environment variables.

📓 CLAUDE.md — your project playbook

# My Project ## Project Context What this product does and who it serves. ## Stack - Frontend: React + Vite ## Code Standards - Keep components small and accessible - Don't change shared brand tokens without asking ## Commands - npm run dev — starts the preview - npm test — runs tests

Three levels: ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md (follows you everywhere) · ./CLAUDE.md (this repo) · ./src/CLAUDE.md (one area). Edited it? Run /clear so Claude re-reads it.

🔁 The workflow that prevents chaos

Plan→Approve→Build (small)→Review the diff→Test→Commit

The golden rule: the plan describes intent, the diff shows the edits, the tests provide evidence. You need all three for real work — a confident explanation is not proof.