Claude Code

CLI

Anthropic

Anthropic's agentic command-line coding tool, deeply integrated with the terminal and your codebase.

MCP

Supported

Add MCP servers via claude mcp add or .mcp.json. Three scopes (local/project/user), stdio/HTTP/SSE/WebSocket transports, OAuth, and tool search.

Verified 2026-06-21Docs

Transportsstdiohttpssews

AuthoauthheadersheadersHelper

Config files

Path	Scope	Format	Key
`.mcp.json`	Project	json	mcpServers
`~/.claude.json` Local scope nests under projects.<path>.mcpServers; user scope is top-level.	Global	json	mcpServers

Fields

Field	Type	Description
`type`	"stdio" \| "http" \| "sse" \| "ws"	Transport type. 'streamable-http' is accepted as an alias for 'http'.
`command`	string	Executable for a stdio server.
`args`	string[]	Arguments for the stdio command.
`env`	record<string, string>	Environment variables. Supports ${VAR} and ${VAR:-default} expansion.
`url`	string	Endpoint for HTTP/SSE/WebSocket servers.
`headers`	record<string, string>	Static HTTP headers (e.g. Authorization). Supports env expansion.
`headersHelper`	string	Command that prints a JSON object of headers at connect time (dynamic auth).
`oauth`	{ clientId?, callbackPort?, scopes?, authServerMetadataUrl? }	OAuth configuration for remote servers.
`timeout`	number	Per-server tool execution timeout in milliseconds.
`alwaysLoad`	boolean	Exempt this server's tools from deferral so they load at session start.

Capabilities

ToolsSupported

ResourcesSupported

PromptsSupported

RootsSupported

ElicitationSupported

Examples

Project HTTP server (.mcp.json)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "api-server": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "${API_BASE_URL:-https://api.example.com}/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer ${API_KEY}" }
    }
  }
}

•Project scope uses .mcp.json (checked into version control, requires approval).
•Local and user scopes are stored in ~/.claude.json; type 'streamable-http' is an alias for 'http'.
•SSE transport is deprecated in favor of HTTP.

Skills

Supported

SKILL.md skills with rich frontmatter, invoked with /name or loaded automatically by Claude. Custom commands are merged into skills.

Verified 2026-06-21Docs

Invoke/skill-nameautomatic

Config files

Path	Scope	Format	Key
`.claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md`	Project	markdown	—
`~/.claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md` Personal skills, available across all projects.	Global	markdown	—

Fields

Field	Type	Description
`name`	string	Display name. Defaults to the directory name.
`description`	string	What the skill does and when to use it. Recommended.
`when_to_use`	string	Extra trigger context appended to description in the skill listing.
`argument-hint`	string	Autocomplete hint for expected arguments.
`arguments`	string \| string[]	Named positional arguments for $name substitution.
`disable-model-invocation`	boolean	When true, only the user can invoke (not Claude). Default false.
`user-invocable`	boolean	When false, hide from the / menu (Claude-only). Default true.
`allowed-tools`	string \| string[]	Tools usable without approval while the skill is active.
`disallowed-tools`	string \| string[]	Tools removed from the pool while the skill is active.
`model`	string	Model to use while the skill is active, or 'inherit'.
`effort`	"low" \| "medium" \| "high" \| "xhigh" \| "max"	Effort level override while the skill is active.
`context`	"fork"	Run the skill in a forked subagent context.
`agent`	string	Subagent type to use when context: fork is set.
`hooks`	object	Hooks scoped to the skill's lifecycle.
`paths`	string \| string[]	Glob patterns that limit when the skill auto-activates.
`shell`	"bash" \| "powershell"	Shell for inline !`command` blocks. Default bash.

Examples

Task skill (manual invocation)

---
name: deploy
description: Deploy the application to production
disable-model-invocation: true
allowed-tools: Bash(git add *) Bash(git commit *)
---

Deploy $ARGUMENTS to production:
1. Run the test suite
2. Build and push

•Live change detection reloads SKILL.md edits within a session.
•Project skills load from .claude/skills/ up the directory tree and from nested dirs on demand.

Rules

Supported

CLAUDE.md memory files (project/user/managed) plus modular .claude/rules/*.md with optional path scoping. Auto memory accumulates learnings.

Verified 2026-06-21Docs

Config files

Path	Scope	Format	Key
`CLAUDE.md` Also reads ./.claude/CLAUDE.md. CLAUDE.local.md for gitignored personal notes.	Project	markdown	—
`.claude/rules/*.md` Modular topic rules; recursive. Path-scope with the paths frontmatter field.	Project	markdown	—
`~/.claude/CLAUDE.md` Personal instructions for all projects. ~/.claude/rules/*.md also supported.	Global	markdown	—
`/Library/Application Support/ClaudeCode/CLAUDE.md` Managed policy (macOS). Linux/WSL: /etc/claude-code/CLAUDE.md; Windows: C:\Program Files\ClaudeCode\CLAUDE.md.	Enterprise	markdown	—

Fields

Field	Type	Description
`paths`	string \| string[]	Glob patterns; a rule file applies only when matching files are in context.

Examples

Path-scoped rule

---
paths:
  - "src/api/**/*.ts"
---

# API Development Rules
- All API endpoints must include input validation
- Use the standard error response format

•Claude Code reads CLAUDE.md, not AGENTS.md. Import an existing AGENTS.md with @AGENTS.md inside CLAUDE.md.
•Auto memory is stored per repo in ~/.claude/projects/<project>/memory/MEMORY.md.
•Use @path/to/file imports (max depth 4) to compose instructions.

Hooks

Supported

Shell commands that fire on lifecycle events, configured in settings.json under the hooks key (or scoped to a skill/subagent).

Verified 2026-06-21Docs

EventsPreToolUsePostToolUseUserPromptSubmitNotificationStopSubagentStopSessionStartSessionEndPreCompactElicitationInstructionsLoaded

Config files

Path	Scope	Format	Key
`.claude/settings.json`	Project	json	hooks
`~/.claude/settings.json`	Global	json	hooks

Fields

Field	Type	Description
`matcher`	string	Pattern matched against tool name (for PreToolUse/PostToolUse) to scope the hook.
`hooks[].type`	"command"	Hook handler type.
`hooks[].command`	string	Shell command to run. Receives event JSON on stdin.
`hooks[].timeout`	number	Optional timeout in seconds for the hook command.

Examples

Format TypeScript after edits

{
  "hooks": {
    "PostToolUse": [
      {
        "matcher": "Edit|Write",
        "hooks": [{ "type": "command", "command": "prettier --write \"$CLAUDE_FILE_PATHS\"" }]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Commands

Supported

Custom slash commands as markdown files. Merged into Skills — a command and a skill of the same name behave identically; skills add supporting files and auto-invocation.

Verified 2026-06-21Docs

Invoke/command-name

Config files

Path	Scope	Format	Key
`.claude/commands/<name>.md`	Project	markdown	—
`~/.claude/commands/<name>.md`	Global	markdown	—

Fields

Field	Type	Description
`description`	string	What the command does.
`argument-hint`	string	Autocomplete hint for expected arguments.
`allowed-tools`	string \| string[]	Tools the command may use without approval.
`model`	string	Model override while the command runs.

•.claude/commands/<name>.md creates /<name> and supports the same frontmatter as skills.
•Skills are recommended for new workflows since they support supporting files and model invocation.

Settings

Supported

Hierarchical settings.json controls permissions, environment, hooks, model, and skill behavior across user, project, local, and managed scopes.

Verified 2026-06-21Docs

Config files

Path	Scope	Format	Key
`.claude/settings.json` Shared project settings (checked in).	Project	json	—
`.claude/settings.local.json` Personal project settings (gitignored).	Project	json	—
`~/.claude/settings.json` User settings for all projects.	Global	json	—
`managed-settings.json` Managed policy settings deployed by IT/DevOps.	Enterprise	json	—

Fields

Field	Type	Description
`permissions`	{ allow?: string[], deny?: string[], ask?: string[], additionalDirectories?: string[] }	Allow/deny/ask rules governing tool and command use.
`env`	record<string, string>	Environment variables applied to every session.
`hooks`	object	Lifecycle hook configuration (see Hooks).
`model`	string	Default model for sessions.
`disableBundledSkills`	boolean	Disable the built-in bundled skills (/code-review, /debug, etc.).
`skillOverrides`	record<string, "on" \| "name-only" \| "user-invocable-only" \| "off">	Override skill visibility without editing SKILL.md frontmatter.
`autoMemoryEnabled`	boolean	Toggle auto memory. Default true.
`claudeMd`	string	Managed CLAUDE.md content (managed/policy scope only).