Claude CLI Skill

When to Use

• Complex coding tasks that benefit from extended context
• Multi-file code generation or refactoring
• Research and analysis requiring deep reasoning
• Tasks that would benefit from Claude's thinking mode
• Delegating substantial work to a sub-process

Quick Start

One-shot query (non-interactive)

echo "Your prompt here" | claude -p

With specific model

echo "Complex task requiring Opus" | claude -p --model opus
echo "Standard task with Sonnet" | claude -p --model sonnet

With thinking/extended reasoning

claude -p --model opus "Analyze this complex problem"

JSON output (for parsing)

claude -p --output-format json "Your prompt"

Stream JSON (real-time)

claude -p --output-format stream-json "Your prompt"

Key Options

-p, --print

--model <model>

sonnet

opus

--output-format <fmt>

text

json

stream-json

--system-prompt <prompt>

--max-budget-usd <amount>

--allowedTools <tools>

--dangerously-skip-permissions

Working with Files

# Analyze a file
claude -p "Review this code for bugs" < myfile.py

# Work in a specific directory
cd /path/to/project && claude -p "Summarize this codebase"

# Give access to additional directories
claude -p --add-dir /other/path "Work with files in both locations"

For Sub-Agent Delegation

# Run with timeout protection
timeout 300 claude -p --model sonnet "Complete this task..." 2>&1

# Capture structured output
claude -p --output-format json "Generate a report" > result.json

Script: Run Claude Task

node {baseDir}/scripts/run-claude-task.cjs "Your task prompt" [--model sonnet|opus] [--timeout 300]

• Timeout protection
• Error capture and formatting
• Clean output for parsing
• Exit code propagation

Authentication

claude --version

claude

Model Selection

sonnet

opus

Tips

1. Always use

   -p

   for non-interactive/scripted use
2. Set timeouts for long-running tasks to prevent hangs
3. Use

   --output-format json

   when you need to parse results
4. Pipe input for file analysis:

   cat file.py | claude -p "Review this"

5. Working directory matters — Claude sees files relative to cwd

Limitations

• OAuth requires initial interactive setup
• Rate limits apply based on your Anthropic account tier
• Some operations may timeout on very complex tasks
• Interactive features (like file editing confirmations) don't work with

  -p