Claude Code Interactive Mode

Overview

Interactive mode provides a rich REPL (Read-Eval-Print Loop) environment with keyboard shortcuts, command history, vim editing, and background task management.

Keyboard Controls

Essential Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+C	Cancel current input or generation
Ctrl+D	Exit the Claude Code session
Ctrl+L	Clear terminal screen (preserves conversation history)
Ctrl+O	Toggle verbose output (shows detailed tool usage)
Ctrl+R	Search backwards through command history
Ctrl+B	Move bash invocation to background
Tab	Switch extended thinking on and off

Navigation

Shortcut	Action
↑/↓	Navigate through command history
←/→	Move cursor left/right
Home	Move to start of line
End	Move to end of line

Help

Shortcut	Action
?	Show help and shortcuts

Multiline Input Methods

Claude Code supports several ways to create multiline inputs:

Universal Method

Line 1 \
Line 2 \
Line 3

Backslash + Enter works universally across all platforms.

macOS Default

Option+Enter

Option+Enter creates a newline on macOS.

After Terminal Setup

Shift+Enter

Shift+Enter functions after running /terminal-setup.

Vim Editor Mode

Enabling Vim Mode

Temporary (current session):

/vim

Permanent:

/config

Then enable vim mode in configuration.

Vim Navigation

Movement:

• h - Move left
• j - Move down
• k - Move up
• l - Move right
• w - Move forward one word
• e - Move to end of word
• b - Move backward one word
• 0 - Move to start of line
• $ - Move to end of line

Editing:

• i - Insert mode
• a - Append (insert after cursor)
• A - Append at end of line
• I - Insert at start of line
• x - Delete character
• dd - Delete line
• d$ - Delete to end of line
• d0 - Delete to start of line
• dw - Delete word
• . - Repeat last operation

Modes:

• Esc - Return to normal mode
• i - Enter insert mode

Command History & Search

Command History

Navigation:

• ↑ - Previous command
• ↓ - Next command

Organization: Session history is organized by working directory for better context.

Search History

Backward search:

1. Press Ctrl+R
2. Type search term
3. Press Ctrl+R again to cycle through matches
4. Press Enter to execute
5. Press Esc to cancel

Features:

• Displays matching commands
• Highlights search terms
• Allows cycling through multiple matches

Background Task Execution

Overview

When Claude Code runs a command in the background, it runs the command asynchronously and immediately returns a background task ID.

Trigger Background Execution

Automatic: Claude may prompt to background long-running tasks.

Manual: Press Ctrl+B to move regular bash invocations to the background.

Managing Background Tasks

View output: Output is buffered and can be retrieved later.

Monitor tasks: Claude shows status updates for background tasks.

Continue working: You can interact with Claude while background tasks run.

Quick Command Prefixes

Special Prefixes

Prefix	Purpose	Example
#	Add content to CLAUDE.md memory	# Use 2-space indentation
/	Trigger slash commands	/help
!	Direct bash execution (no Claude interpretation)	!ls -la
@	File path autocomplete	@src/ + Tab

Memory Shortcut (#)

Add to memory:

# Always use TypeScript strict mode

Claude will prompt you to select the target memory file:

• Project memory (.claude/CLAUDE.md)
• User memory (~/.claude/CLAUDE.md)

Direct Bash (!)

Execute without interpretation:

!git status
!npm test
!echo "Hello"

Benefits:

• Faster execution
• No AI interpretation overhead
• Direct command output

File Autocomplete (@)

Trigger autocomplete:

@src/

Press Tab to see file suggestions.

Attach files to conversation:

Review @src/components/Button.tsx for issues

Advanced Features

Extended Thinking

Toggle extended thinking: Press Tab to enable/disable.

What it does:

• Allows Claude more thinking time
• Better for complex reasoning
• Uses more tokens
• Shows thinking process in verbose mode

Verbose Output

Toggle verbose mode: Press Ctrl+O

What it shows:

• Detailed tool usage
• API calls and responses
• Token usage
• Performance metrics
• Debugging information

Screen Management

Clear screen: Press Ctrl+L to clear the terminal while preserving conversation history.

Difference from /clear:

• Ctrl+L: Clears screen only (visual)
• /clear: Clears conversation history (context)

Session Management

Exit Session

Clean exit: Press Ctrl+D or type /exit

Force exit: Press Ctrl+C multiple times

Interrupting Operations

Cancel current operation: Press Ctrl+C once

Common scenarios:

• Long-running AI generation
• Bash command execution
• File operations
• Web searches

Tips & Tricks

Efficient Navigation

Quick history access:

↑    # Previous command
↑↑   # Two commands back

Search specific commands:

Ctrl+R "test"    # Find commands with "test"

Productive Workflows

Background long tasks:

# Long-running test suite
Ctrl+B to background it
Continue working on other tasks

Quick iterations:

↑               # Recall last command
# Edit slightly
Enter           # Execute modified version

Memory building:

# Use snake_case for variables
# Prefer composition over inheritance
# Write tests for all public APIs

Vim Mode Power Users

Fast editing:

Esc             # Normal mode
0               # Start of line
d$              # Delete to end
i               # Insert mode
Type new content
Esc             # Back to normal

Quick fixes:

Esc             # Normal mode
$               # End of line
x               # Delete last character
a               # Append
Type correction

Customization

Configure Terminal

Run setup:

/terminal-setup

What it configures:

• Multiline input behavior
• Key bindings
• Shell integration
• Terminal compatibility

Configure Settings

Access configuration:

/config

Available settings:

• Vim mode enable/disable
• Diff viewer preferences
• Permission defaults
• Output preferences

Common Workflows

Exploratory Development

# Ask questions
"explain the authentication flow"

# Make changes
"add rate limiting"

# Test
!npm test

# Adjust
↑ to recall, modify, retry

Debugging Session

# Enable verbose
Ctrl+O

# Run with details
"analyze the memory leak"

# Review verbose output
# Identify issue
# Fix

# Disable verbose
Ctrl+O

Batch Operations

# Background first task
"run full test suite" → Ctrl+B

# Continue with other work
"refactor user module"

# Check background task
# Complete when done

Integration with Shell

Command History Persistence

Claude Code integrates with your shell's command history, allowing you to:

• Access Claude commands in shell history
• Use shell history search (Ctrl+R)
• Mix Claude commands with regular shell commands

Shell Compatibility

Works with:

• Bash
• Zsh
• Fish
• Other POSIX-compatible shells

Environment Integration

Claude Code respects:

• Shell environment variables
• Shell aliases
• Shell functions
• Current working directory

Accessibility

Screen Reader Support

Claude Code works with screen readers for:

• Command input
• Output reading
• Navigation

Keyboard-only Navigation

All features accessible via keyboard:

• No mouse required
• Full keyboard navigation
• Comprehensive shortcuts