Claude Code Additional Features

Lesser-known but powerful features for advanced workflows.

GitHub Actions Integration

Official Claude Code Action for CI/CD automation. Supports API key, Max/Pro subscription (OAuth), Google Vertex AI, and AWS Bedrock authentication.

Basic Setup

# With API key
- uses: anthropics/claude-code-action@v1
  with:
    anthropic_api_key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}
    prompt: "Review this PR for security issues"
    claude_args: "--max-turns 10"

# With Max/Pro subscription
- uses: anthropics/claude-code-action@v1
  with:
    claude_code_oauth_token: ${{ secrets.CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN }}
    prompt: "Review this PR for security issues"

Generate an OAuth token with claude setup-token on a machine with a browser (valid ~1 year). Available in Claude Code v1.0.44+.

Capabilities

Responds to @claude mentions in PRs and issues
Interactive mode (responds to mentions) and automation mode
Implements features, fixes bugs, creates PRs
Supports scheduled workflows via cron
Works with AWS Bedrock, Google Vertex AI

Full Documentation | Official Docs

Git Worktrees

Run parallel Claude Code sessions on different branches.

Setup

git worktree add ../project-feature-a -b feature-a
cd ../project-feature-a
claude

Benefits

Each worktree has isolated file state
Sessions grouped by git branch in /resume
Perfect for long-running tasks

Documentation

Image and Screenshot Handling

Claude Code has multimodal capabilities.

Methods

Paste: Ctrl+V (note: not Cmd+V)
macOS screenshot: Cmd+Ctrl+Shift+4 to clipboard, then Ctrl+V
Drag and drop: Directly into terminal
File reference: "Analyze this image: /path/to/image.png"

Use Cases

Analyze UI designs → generate CSS/HTML
Debug from error screenshots
Extract data from diagrams
Interpret visual documentation

Documentation

Jupyter Notebook Support

Native .ipynb file support.

Capabilities

Read and write notebooks directly
Interpret cell outputs (text, images, charts)
Convert exploratory code to production scripts
Examine intermediate results

Recommended Workflow

Open VS Code side-by-side with Claude Code and Jupyter notebook.

Plan Mode

Safety-first analysis without code changes.

What It Does

Read-only operations only
Creates comprehensive plan before changes
Presents proposed changes for approval

Activation

# During session
Shift+Tab  # Press twice

# New session
claude --permission-mode plan

# Headless
claude --permission-mode plan -p "Your prompt"

Best For

Multi-file implementations
Sensitive projects
Learning new codebases

Documentation

Session Management

Sophisticated conversation persistence.

Commands

claude --resume auth-refactor     # Resume by name
claude --continue                 # Resume most recent
/resume                          # Session picker
/rename my-session               # Name current session

Session Picker Shortcuts

Key	Action
`P`	Preview session content
`R`	Rename session
`B`	Filter to current branch
`A`	Toggle current dir vs all projects
`/`	Search/filter sessions

Documentation

Cost Tracking

Comprehensive usage monitoring.

Commands

/cost   # Token usage statistics (API users)
/stats  # Usage patterns and streaks

OpenTelemetry Integration

export CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TELEMETRY=1

Tracks: sessions, tokens, commits, PRs, cost per model.

Cost Reduction Tips

/clear between unrelated tasks
Use Sonnet over Opus for most tasks
Reduce MCP server overhead
Move CLAUDE.md details to skills

Documentation

Task Lists

Visual task tracking during sessions.

Usage

Ctrl+T toggles task view (up to 10 tasks)
Tasks persist across context compaction
Share across sessions: CLAUDE_CODE_TASK_LIST_ID=my-project claude
/todos lists TODO items

Background Commands

Async execution while continuing conversation.

Usage

! npm test     # Bash mode
Ctrl+B         # Background it (Tmux: press twice)
/tasks         # View background tasks

Disable

export CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_BACKGROUND_TASKS=1

Extended Thinking

Deep reasoning for complex problems.

Toggle

Option+T (macOS) / Alt+T (Windows/Linux)
Configure globally via /config
Limit budget: MAX_THINKING_TOKENS=10000

View

Press Ctrl+O for verbose mode
Thinking appears as gray italic text

Best For

Complex architectural decisions
Challenging bugs
Multi-step planning
Evaluating tradeoffs

Chrome Browser Integration

Control local web applications.

Setup

Install Chrome extension, then:

claude --chrome

Capabilities

Debug with console logs
Automate form filling
Draft content in Google Docs
Extract data from web pages
Test local web applications
Record demo GIFs

Documentation

Slack Integration

Mention @Claude in Slack threads.

Capabilities

Automatic repository detection
Creates Claude Code sessions on web
Returns pull requests in thread
Bug report → PR workflow

Documentation

Desktop Preview

Native desktop app with GUI.

Features

Multiple isolated coding sessions
Built-in Git worktree support
Launch local or cloud sessions
Browser control integration

Documentation

Remote Development

DevContainers

# Provides isolated environment
# Multi-layered security
# Network isolation with whitelisted domains

Web Sessions

claude --remote "Fix the login bug"  # Create web session
claude --teleport                    # Resume web session locally

Documentation

Output Format Control

Formats

--output-format text        # Plain text (default)
--output-format json        # Full JSON with metadata
--output-format stream-json # Real-time JSON streaming

Example

cat data.txt | claude -p 'summarize' --output-format json > analysis.json

Context Visualization

Commands

/context  # Shows what's consuming context as colored grid
/compact  # Manually trigger compaction
/compact focus on API changes  # Compaction with focus

Reverse History Search

Ctrl+R for interactive search:

Type query (highlighted in results)
Ctrl+R again to cycle matches
Tab to continue editing
Enter to execute

Vim Mode

Enable with /vim or configure via /config.

Supported Features

Mode switching: Esc, i/I/a/A/o/O
Navigation: h/j/k/l, w/e/b, 0/$, gg/G
Editing: x, dd, dw, cc, cw, .
Text objects: iw/aw, i"/a", i(/a(
Yank/paste: yy, yw, p/P

Additional Features

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