Command Development FAQs

Question 1

What is the difference between project and personal commands?

Accepted Answer

Project commands are stored in .claude/commands/ and shared with your team via the repository, while personal commands live in ~/.claude/commands/ and are available across all your local projects.

Question 2

Why should commands be written for Claude instead of the human user?

Accepted Answer

Slash commands are directives for the AI agent. Writing instructions for Claude ensures the model performs the specific task requested, whereas writing for the user only describes what will happen without triggering the action.

Question 3

How do I reference specific files in a command template?

Accepted Answer

Use the '@' symbol followed by a file path (e.g., @src/main.ts). This tells Claude to read the file content and include it in the context when the command is executed.

Question 4

How do I pass arguments to my custom commands?

Accepted Answer

You can use $1, $2, etc., for positional arguments, or $ARGUMENTS to capture everything typed after the command name as a single string.

Question 5

Can I execute shell commands within a custom slash command?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can use the backtick syntax (e.g., !`git status`) to execute bash commands. Ensure the 'allowed-tools' field in your YAML frontmatter includes Bash permissions.

Command Development

Key Features

Use Cases

Command Development

Key Features

Use Cases