Claude Command Codes: 100 Hidden Shortcuts

A categorized deck of 100 shortcut commands that flip Claude into response modes you didn't know it had.

These aren't slash commands baked into the Claude UI. They're prompt-level instructions — short phrases you drop at the start (or end) of any message to change how Claude responds. Think of them as mode switches. Paste them as written, swap in your content, and Claude shifts its output format, reasoning style, or behavior instantly. You don't need a special account or plugin. You just need to know the phrase.

Output Format Control

/bullets — Respond only in bullet points, no paragraphs.
/numbered — Format the response as a numbered list.
/table — Organize the output as a markdown table with clear column headers.
/tldr — Give me a 3-sentence summary at the top before anything else.
/oneliner — Condense your entire answer into one sentence.
/eli5 — Explain this like I'm five years old.
/dense — Pack maximum information into minimum words. No padding.
/outline — Respond as a structured outline with headers and sub-bullets only.
/twoversions — Give me two different versions of this so I can compare.
/transcript — Format this as a spoken dialogue between two people.
/json — Return the output as valid JSON.
/markdown — Use full markdown formatting: headers, bold, code blocks, lists.

Tone and Voice Shifts

/direct — Skip the softening. Tell me the actual answer, no hedging.
/blunt — Be honest to the point of uncomfortable. Don't soften the feedback.
/formal — Write in a professional, formal register appropriate for a business document.
/casual — Write like you're texting a smart friend.
/confident — Remove all uncertainty language. No 'perhaps,' 'maybe,' or 'it could be.'
/socratic — Respond with questions that help me think through this myself.
/neutral — Remove all opinion. Present only facts and options.
/editorial — Take a strong stance and defend it.
/contrarian — Argue the opposite of what I just said.
/devil — Play devil's advocate on my idea.
/dry — Write with a dry, understated wit. No exclamation points.
/coach — Respond as a coach would: direct, encouraging, actionable.

Thinking and Reasoning Modes

/stepbystep — Walk through your reasoning one step at a time before giving the answer.
/firstprinciples — Break this down to foundational assumptions before reasoning up.
/procon — List the pros and cons before giving a recommendation.
/steelman — Give me the strongest possible version of the opposing argument.
/assumptions — List every assumption you're making before answering.
/confidence — After each claim, rate your confidence as high, medium, or low.
/sources — Tell me what types of sources or knowledge you're drawing from.
/gaps — After answering, tell me what you don't know or what's missing.
/rethink — You just answered. Now reconsider from scratch and see if you land somewhere different.
/adversarial — Try to poke holes in my plan or idea.
/scenarios — Give me three different scenarios: best case, worst case, most likely.
/tradeoffs — What are the tradeoffs between these options? Be specific.

Writing and Editing Modes

/rewrite — Rewrite what I just wrote, improving clarity and flow. Keep my meaning.
/shorten — Cut this by half without losing the core point.
/expand — Expand this into a full section with supporting detail.
/punchup — Make this punchier. Shorter sentences. Stronger verbs.
/passive — Rewrite this removing all passive voice constructions.
/transitions — Rewrite this with smooth transitions between every idea.
/hooks — Rewrite the first sentence to be a strong hook.
/cta — Add a clear, specific call to action at the end.
/objections — After the copy, list the top 3 objections a reader might have.
/scannable — Rewrite this so it's skimmable: subheads, bullets, bold key phrases.
/headline5 — Give me 5 headline variations for this.
/subjectlines — Write 5 email subject line options for this content.

Role and Persona Modes

/expert — Respond as a domain expert with 20 years of experience in this field.
/skeptic — Respond as someone who is highly skeptical of this idea.
/investor — Evaluate this from a venture investor's perspective.
/buyer — Respond as a potential customer evaluating whether to buy this.
/editor — Respond as a tough magazine editor reviewing my draft.
/strategist — Respond as a senior strategy consultant. No fluff, only leverage.
/lawyer — Flag any legal risks or concerns in plain language (not legal advice).
/operator — Respond as someone who has to actually execute this, not just plan it.
/cmo — Evaluate this from a chief marketing officer's lens.
/customer — Respond as my target customer would actually react to this.
/engineer — Respond as a senior engineer reviewing this for feasibility.
/auditor — Review this for errors, inconsistencies, and weak logic.

Research and Synthesis Modes

/compare — Compare these two things side by side across the key dimensions.
/define — Define this term precisely, then give a plain-language explanation.
/history — Give me the relevant history or background on this topic.
/current — Summarize the current state of this topic as of your training cutoff.
/taxonomy — Organize this topic into a clear category structure.
/distill — Read this content and pull out the 5 most important points.
/patterns — What patterns or trends do you see across this data or content?
/analogies — Explain this concept using 3 different analogies.
/examples — Give me 5 concrete, real-world examples of this.
/counterexamples — Give me examples where this principle does NOT hold.
/glossary — Define all the key terms in this field for a newcomer.
/framework — Give me a simple framework I can use to think about this.

Workflow and Productivity Modes

/checklist — Turn this into an actionable checklist.
/sop — Write a standard operating procedure for this process.
/template — Create a reusable template for this.
/breakdown — Break this big task into 10 specific sub-tasks.
/sequence — What order should I do these steps in, and why?
/bottleneck — Where is the likely bottleneck or failure point in this process?
/automate — What parts of this could be automated, and how?
/delegate — What parts of this should I delegate versus do myself?
/sprint — Turn this into a 5-day sprint plan with a daily focus.
/kpis — What metrics should I track to know if this is working?
/priority — Rank these tasks by impact and urgency.
/nextaction — What is the single next physical action I should take?

Marketing and Copy Modes

/angles — Give me 5 different marketing angles for this offer.
/avatar — Write a detailed customer avatar for this product or service.
/painpoints — List the top 10 pain points my customer experiences around this problem.
/desires — List what my customer deeply wants — not just what they say they want.
/sequence:email — Write a 5-email nurture sequence for this offer.
/ads — Write 3 ad variations: awareness, consideration, and conversion.
/testimonial — Write a realistic, specific testimonial in customer voice.
/faq — Generate the 10 most common questions and clear answers for this offer.
/landing — Write the key sections of a landing page for this: headline, subhead, bullets, CTA.
/dm — Write a short, non-spammy DM outreach message for this.
/thread — Turn this into a 7-tweet thread with a strong opener and close.
/narrative — Write a short origin story that makes this offer more compelling.

Feedback and Review Modes

/score — Score this on a scale of 1-10 and tell me exactly why.
/grade — Grade this like a teacher would. Be honest about what's weak.
/teardown — Tear this apart. What's wrong with it?
/fix — Here's the problem. Just fix it. Don't explain at length.
/missing — What is missing from this that would make it significantly better?
/bestpart — What is the strongest part of this and why?
/worstpart — What is the weakest part of this and why?
/redo — The last response wasn't useful. Try a completely different approach.
/clarify — Before answering, ask me the 3 questions you most need answered to do this well.
/benchmark — How does this compare to best-in-class examples in this space?
/risk — What are the top 3 risks if I move forward with this?
/validate — What evidence would confirm or disprove this assumption?

How to Stack These

The real power is combining them. You can open any message with two or three of these and Claude will honor all of them. Here are a few combinations that actually work:

/direct /stepbystep — Tell me exactly how to fix this, walking through each step with no hedging.

/expert /teardown — You are a senior operator. Tear apart this SOP and tell me what's broken.

/bullets /gaps /confidence — Answer in bullets. After each point, flag your confidence level and note what's missing.

/avatar /painpoints /angles — Define my customer avatar, list their top 10 pain points, then give me 5 marketing angles that hit those points.

You don't have to use the slash prefix. The slash is a memory device. What matters is the instruction. 'Respond only in bullets' works just as well as '/bullets' — the slash just makes it faster to scan and reuse.