Slash Commands Reference

Create and use user-triggered prompts with /command-name syntax.

When to Use

• "How do I create a slash command?"
• "What slash commands are available?"
• "Add bash to my command"
• "Use file references in commands"
• "Slash commands vs skills"

Built-in Commands

Creating Commands

Project Commands

bash
1mkdir -p .claude/commands
2cat > .claude/commands/optimize.md << 'EOF'
3---
4description: Analyze code for performance issues
5---
6
7Review this code for:
8- Performance bottlenecks
9- Memory leaks
10- Caching opportunities
11EOF

Personal Commands

bash
1mkdir -p ~/.claude/commands
2cat > ~/.claude/commands/review.md << 'EOF'
3---
4description: Security-focused code review
5---
6
7Check for vulnerabilities:
8- Input validation
9- SQL injection
10- XSS risks
11EOF

Command File Format

yaml
1---
2description: Brief description for /help
3allowed-tools: [Bash, Read, Write]  # Optional
4argument-hint: "[file] [type]"       # Optional
5---
6
7Your markdown instructions here.
8Use $1, $2 for arguments or $ARGUMENTS for all.

Bash Execution

Run bash before loading prompt with ! prefix:

yaml
1---
2allowed-tools: Bash(git:*), Bash(grep:*)
3description: Git commit helper
4---
5
6Current status: !`git status`
7Staged changes: !`git diff --staged`
8Recent commits: !`git log --oneline -5`
9
10Based on these changes, suggest a commit message.

Rules:

• Must declare allowed-tools: Bash(...) in frontmatter
• Use backticks: !`command`
• Output is included in Claude's context

File References

Include files with @ prefix:

markdown
1Review against @.claude/STYLE_GUIDE.md
2
3Compare:
4- @src/old.js
5- @src/new.js
6
7Refactor files matching @src/**/*.util.ts

Arguments

yaml
1---
2argument-hint: "[pr-number] [priority]"
3---
4
5Review PR #$1 with priority: $2
6
7# Or use all arguments:
8Fix issue #$ARGUMENTS

Usage:

bash
1/review-pr 456 high
2# $1 = "456", $2 = "high"

Namespacing

Organize with subdirectories:

.claude/commands/
├── frontend/
│   └── component.md    → /component (project:frontend)
└── backend/
    └── endpoint.md     → /endpoint (project:backend)

MCP Slash Commands

MCP servers expose prompts as commands:

bash
1/mcp__github__list_prs
2/mcp__github__pr_review 456
3/mcp__jira__create_issue "Bug" high

Slash Commands vs Skills

Use slash commands for: Frequently typed prompts, simple templates Use skills for: Complex workflows, multiple files, auto-discovery

Example: Complete Git Commit Command

yaml
1---
2description: Generate semantic commit message
3allowed-tools: Bash(git:*), Read
4argument-hint: "[type]"
5---
6
7# Semantic Commit Generator
8
9Staged files: !`git diff --name-only --cached`
10
11Diff preview:
12!`git diff --cached | head -100`
13
14Generate a conventional commit message.
15Type: $1 (feat/fix/docs/style/refactor/perf/test/chore)
16
17Format: `<type>(<scope>): <subject>`

Usage: /commit feat