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tools-reference.md 2026-03-25 21:08 UTC to 2026-03-26 21:07 UTC

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Tools reference

Complete reference for the tools Claude Code can use, including permission requirements.

Claude Code has access to a set of tools that help it understand and modify your codebase. The tool names below are the exact strings you use in permission rules, subagent tool lists, and hook matchers.

Tool Description Permission Required
Agent Spawns a subagent with its own context window to handle a task No
AskUserQuestion Asks multiple-choice questions to gather requirements or clarify ambiguity No
Bash Executes shell commands in your environment. See Bash tool behavior Yes
CronCreate Schedules a recurring or one-shot prompt within the current session (gone when Claude exits). See scheduled tasks No
CronDelete Cancels a scheduled task by ID No
CronList Lists all scheduled tasks in the session No
Edit Makes targeted edits to specific files Yes
EnterPlanMode Switches to plan mode to design an approach before coding No
EnterWorktree Creates an isolated git worktree and switches into it No
ExitPlanMode Presents a plan for approval and exits plan mode Yes
ExitWorktree Exits a worktree session and returns to the original directory No
Glob Finds files based on pattern matching No
Grep Searches for patterns in file contents No
ListMcpResourcesTool Lists resources exposed by connected MCP servers No
LSP Code intelligence via language servers. Reports type errors and warnings automatically after file edits. Also supports navigation operations: jump to definitions, find references, get type info, list symbols, find implementations, trace call hierarchies. Requires a code intelligence plugin and its language server binary No
NotebookEdit Modifies Jupyter notebook cells Yes
PowerShell Executes PowerShell commands on Windows. Opt-in preview. See PowerShell tool Yes
Read Reads the contents of files No
ReadMcpResourceTool Reads a specific MCP resource by URI No
Skill Executes a skill within the main conversation Yes
TaskCreate Creates a new task in the task list No
TaskGet Retrieves full details for a specific task No
TaskList Lists all tasks with their current status No
TaskOutput (Deprecated) Retrieves output from a background task. Prefer Read on the task's output file path No
TaskStop Kills a running background task by ID No
TaskUpdate Updates task status, dependencies, details, or deletes tasks No
TodoWrite Manages the session task checklist. Available in non-interactive mode and the Agent SDK; interactive sessions use TaskCreate, TaskGet, TaskList, and TaskUpdate instead No
ToolSearch Searches for and loads deferred tools when tool search is enabled No
WebFetch Fetches content from a specified URL Yes
WebSearch Performs web searches Yes
Write Creates or overwrites files Yes

Permission rules can be configured using /permissions or in permission settings. Also see Tool-specific permission rules.

Bash tool behavior

The Bash tool runs each command in a separate process with the following persistence behavior:

  • Working directory persists across commands. Set CLAUDE_BASH_MAINTAIN_PROJECT_WORKING_DIR=1 to reset to the project directory after each command.
  • Environment variables do not persist. An export in one command will not be available in the next.

Activate your virtualenv or conda environment before launching Claude Code. To make environment variables persist across Bash commands, set CLAUDE_ENV_FILE to a shell script before launching Claude Code, or use a SessionStart hook to populate it dynamically.

PowerShell tool

On Windows, Claude Code can run PowerShell commands natively instead of routing through Git Bash. This is an opt-in preview.

Enable the PowerShell tool

Set CLAUDE_CODE_USE_POWERSHELL_TOOL=1 in your environment or in settings.json:

{
  "env": {
    "CLAUDE_CODE_USE_POWERSHELL_TOOL": "1"
  }
}

Claude Code auto-detects pwsh.exe (PowerShell 7+) with a fallback to powershell.exe (PowerShell 5.1). The Bash tool remains registered alongside the PowerShell tool, so you may need to ask Claude to use PowerShell.

Shell selection in settings, hooks, and skills

Three additional settings control where PowerShell is used:

  • "defaultShell": "powershell" in settings.json: routes interactive ! commands through PowerShell. Requires the PowerShell tool to be enabled.
  • "shell": "powershell" on individual command hooks: runs that hook in PowerShell. Hooks spawn PowerShell directly, so this works regardless of CLAUDE_CODE_USE_POWERSHELL_TOOL.
  • shell: powershell in skill frontmatter: runs !`command` blocks in PowerShell. Requires the PowerShell tool to be enabled.

Preview limitations

The PowerShell tool has the following known limitations during the preview:

  • Auto mode does not work with the PowerShell tool yet
  • PowerShell profiles are not loaded
  • Sandboxing is not supported
  • Only supported on native Windows, not WSL
  • Git Bash is still required to start Claude Code

See also

  • Permissions: permission system, rule syntax, and tool-specific patterns
  • Subagents: configure tool access for subagents
  • Hooks: run custom commands before or after tool execution