Claude Code Tools Reference

Configure tool permissions when launching parallel Claude Code agents.

Available Tools

Tool	Description	Use Case
Read	Read files	Always needed for context
Write	Create new files	Creating new code files
Edit	Modify existing files	Updating existing code
Bash	Execute shell commands	Running tests, builds, git
Glob	Find files by pattern	File discovery
Grep	Search file contents	Code search
WebFetch	Fetch web content	Documentation lookup
WebSearch	Search the web	Research
TodoWrite	Manage task lists	Progress tracking
Task	Launch sub-agents	Delegation
NotebookEdit	Edit Jupyter notebooks	Data science
mcp__<server>	MCP server tools	External integrations

CLI Syntax

Each tool is a separate quoted argument:

claude --allowedTools "Tool1" "Tool2" "Tool3(...)" --print "prompt"

Example with multiple tools:

claude --allowedTools "Read" "Edit" "Bash(pytest:*)" --print "implement feature"

Path-Specific Restrictions

Restrict file operations to specific directories using gitignore-style patterns.

Path Pattern Syntax

Pattern	Meaning	Example
//path	Absolute filesystem path	Edit(//Users/alice/src/**)
~/path	Home directory relative	Read(~/.zshrc)
/path	Relative to settings file	Edit(/src/**/*.ts)
path	Relative to current directory	Read(src/**)

Examples

# Allow editing only in src/ directory
claude --allowedTools "Edit(/src/**)" --print "..."

# Allow editing TypeScript files only
claude --allowedTools "Edit(/src/**/*.ts)" --print "..."

# Multiple path restrictions
claude --allowedTools "Read" "Edit(/apps/users/**)" "Edit(/tests/**)" --print "..."

# Absolute path restriction
claude --allowedTools "Edit(//tmp/scratch.txt)" --print "..."

Bash Command Restrictions

Restrict which shell commands can be executed using prefix matching.

Syntax

Bash(command:*)

The :* wildcard only works at the END of patterns (prefix matching).

Pattern Examples

Pattern	Matches	Does NOT Match
Bash(pytest:*)	pytest, pytest apps/	python -m pytest
Bash(npm run test:*)	npm run test, npm run test:unit	npm run build
Bash(git log:*)	git log --oneline	git commit
Bash(git status:*)	git status	git push
Bash(mypy:*)	mypy apps/	python -m mypy
Bash(ruff:*)	ruff check .	python -m ruff

Example

claude --allowedTools "Bash(pytest:*)" "Bash(mypy:*)" "Bash(ruff:*)" "Read" --print "run tests"

Security Note

Claude Code prevents bypass via shell operators (&&, ;, ||). Be aware:

• Different invocations may bypass patterns (python -m pytest vs pytest)
• For URL restrictions, prefer WebFetch(domain:...) over Bash(curl:*)

WebFetch Domain Restrictions

Restrict web fetches to specific domains:

claude --allowedTools "WebFetch(domain:github.com)" "WebFetch(domain:docs.python.org)" --print "..."

MCP Tool Restrictions

Allow All Tools from a Server

claude --allowedTools "mcp__puppeteer" --print "..."

Allow Specific Tool Only

claude --allowedTools "mcp__puppeteer__puppeteer_navigate" --print "..."

Note: MCP permissions do NOT support wildcards (*).

Recommended Configurations

By Task Type

Task Type	Recommended --allowedTools
Implementation	"Read" "Write" "Edit(/apps/myapp/**)" "Bash(pytest:*)" "Bash(mypy:*)" "Glob" "Grep"
Code Review	"Read" "Glob" "Grep" (read-only)
Testing Only	"Read" "Bash(pytest:*)" "Bash(npm test:*)"
Documentation	"Read" "Write(/docs/**)" "Edit(/docs/**)" "WebFetch"
Full Access	--dangerously-skip-permissions

For Parallel Development

When using git worktrees for isolation, --dangerously-skip-permissions is safe:

• Each agent runs in an isolated worktree
• Agents can only affect files in their workspace
• Main branch remains protected until explicit merge

# Safe in isolated worktree
claude --dangerously-skip-permissions --print "$(cat prompts/task-001.txt)"

For Granular Control

When agents share a workspace, use path-scoped permissions:

claude \
  --allowedTools \
    "Read" \
    "Write(/apps/users/**)" \
    "Edit(/apps/users/**)" \
    "Bash(pytest apps/users/:*)" \
    "Bash(mypy apps/users/:*)" \
    "Glob" \
    "Grep" \
  --print "$(cat prompts/task-001.txt)"

Complete Examples

Django App Implementation Agent

claude \
  --allowedTools \
    "Read" \
    "Write(/apps/orders/**)" \
    "Edit(/apps/orders/**)" \
    "Bash(pytest apps/orders/:*)" \
    "Bash(mypy apps/orders/:*)" \
    "Bash(ruff check apps/orders/:*)" \
    "Glob" \
    "Grep" \
  --print "Implement order management per task-004 spec"

React Component Agent

claude \
  --allowedTools \
    "Read" \
    "Write(/src/components/Dashboard/**)" \
    "Edit(/src/components/Dashboard/**)" \
    "Bash(npm run test:*)" \
    "Bash(npm run lint:*)" \
    "Glob" \
    "Grep" \
  --print "Implement Dashboard components per task-003 spec"

Read-Only Analysis Agent

claude \
  --allowedTools \
    "Read" \
    "Glob" \
    "Grep" \
    "WebFetch(domain:docs.python.org)" \
  --print "Analyze codebase and suggest improvements"

Quick Reference

Restriction Type	Syntax
Allow tool everywhere	"Edit"
Restrict to directory	"Edit(/src/**)"
Restrict to file type	"Edit(/src/**/*.ts)"
Restrict bash command	"Bash(pytest:*)"
Restrict web domain	"WebFetch(domain:github.com)"
Allow MCP server	"mcp__puppeteer"
Allow specific MCP tool	"mcp__puppeteer__puppeteer_navigate"
Skip all permissions	--dangerously-skip-permissions

Common Patterns

Task-Scoped Permissions

Match permissions to task boundaries:

# Task owns apps/users/
--allowedTools "Edit(/apps/users/**)" "Write(/apps/users/**)"

# Task owns apps/orders/
--allowedTools "Edit(/apps/orders/**)" "Write(/apps/orders/**)"

Test Commands Only

--allowedTools "Read" "Bash(pytest:*)" "Bash(npm test:*)" "Bash(go test:*)"

Documentation Writer

--allowedTools "Read" "Write(/docs/**)" "Edit(/docs/**)" "WebFetch" "WebSearch"

Infrastructure Agent

--allowedTools "Read" "Edit(/terraform/**)" "Edit(/docker-compose.yml)" "Bash(terraform:*)" "Bash(docker:*)"