Introduction

Once you're comfortable with the basics of Claude Code — asking questions, editing files, running commands — there's a whole toolkit of advanced features waiting for you. These capabilities turn Claude Code from a helpful assistant into a powerful development environment that adapts to how you work.

Comprehensive guide to Claude Code's advanced capabilities including planning mode, extended thinking, auto mode, background tasks, permission modes, print mode (non-interactive), session management, interactive features, channels, voice dictation, remote control, web sessions, desktop app, task list, prompt suggestions, git worktrees, sandboxing, managed settings, and configuration.

Each of these features solves a specific problem. Planning mode lets Claude research and outline an approach before writing any code — useful for complex tasks where you want to approve the strategy first. Extended thinking gives Claude more reasoning time for harder problems. Permission modes control what Claude can do without asking, from fully locked down to fully autonomous. Background tasks let you run long operations without blocking your terminal.

Here are the most commonly used advanced commands to get you started:

• /allowed-tools — manage which tools Claude can use without asking permission
• shift+tab — toggle between plan mode and normal mode mid-conversation
• claude --print "query" — run a one-shot query non-interactively, useful in scripts and pipelines
• claude --resume — pick up where you left off in a previous session

You don't need to learn all of these at once. Most developers pick up one or two features as they hit real needs — like switching to plan mode the first time a refactor goes sideways, or setting up permission overrides when they're tired of approving the same tool repeatedly.

Key takeaway: advanced features exist to remove friction. Whenever you find yourself repeating an action, waiting unnecessarily, or wishing Claude would handle something differently, check if one of these features already solves that problem.