Quick reference: Claude Code for researchers

One-page reference for the first weeks of use. Full treatments are in the linked documents — this is the cheat sheet.

Keyboard shortcuts

Key What it does
↑ / ↓ Navigate command history
Ctrl+C Interrupt Claude mid-task — safe to use
Ctrl+L Clear terminal screen (conversation preserved)
Shift+Enter New line without submitting
Tab Autocomplete file and path names
Ctrl+R Search previous commands
Ctrl+D Exit Claude Code

→ Full reference: A5.shortcuts-daily-usage

Slash commands

Command When to use it
/help See all available commands
/init Generate a CLAUDE.md for this folder
/clear Start fresh — clears conversation history
/compact Compress long session to save context
/rewind Undo to before a specific tool call
/cost Check token usage for this session
/exit Exit Claude Code

Which tool?

Need Desktop Cowork Code
Quick question, no files ✓ best — ✓
Batch file processing — ✓ ✓ best
Ongoing project, persistent memory — — ✓ best
Google Drive / Gmail integration — ✓ best ✓
Custom skills and full control — — ✓ best
Sensitive data (MUNI-approved) e-Infra e-Infra e-Infra

→ Full comparison: A1.desktop-vs-code

Privacy quick-check

Before you paste a document or point Claude at a folder:

Data type Where
Published sources, your own writing Any tool
Pre-publication data, drafts Code (API) preferred; or e-Infra
Anonymised transcripts Code (API); check your IRB approval
Identifiable personal data e-Infra only
API keys, passwords Never — not anywhere in any prompt

→ Full guide: A.issue.privacy-security

When stuck

  1. Scope it down — one task, one file at a time
  2. Add context — paste the relevant excerpt directly into the prompt
  3. Show an example — "output should look like this: [example]"
  4. Ask it to plan first — "Before you do this, describe your approach"
  5. Start fresh — /clear if too much wrong context has built up

Good habits

Related