claude-cli

name	claude-cli
description	Shell out to claude CLI.
allowed-tools	Bash(claude *)

Claude CLI

Use the claude CLI to send prompts to Claude models from shell-based workflows — typically when the current host is OpenCode, or when a sub-agent must run outside the native Agent tool.

Basic Invocation

claude --model opus --print --output-format text -- "Your prompt here"

Key flags:

• --model — model family: opus, sonnet, or haiku.
• --print — non-interactive; prints response and exits.
• --output-format text — plain text response; also accepts json, stream-json.
• -- — separates flags from the prompt (required when the prompt starts with -).

Adding Context via File

claude --model opus --print --output-format text \
  --append-system-prompt .tmp/context.md \
  -- "Short user-facing prompt here"

• --append-system-prompt <file> — appends file content to the system prompt. Use for large shared context (diffs, specs, MR content) without bloating the prompt argument.
• Real instructions go in the file; the trailing -- "..." stays brief and human-readable.

Effort and Session Options

claude --model opus --print --output-format text \
  --effort max \
  --name "MBOT: code-review opus" \
  -- "Perform the review as instructed."

• --effort max — increases thinking budget for complex reasoning tasks.
• --name "..." — names the session in the Claude UI; useful for auditing batch runs.

Agent Selection

claude --agent general --model opus --print --output-format text -- "Prompt"

• --agent general — uses the general-purpose agent profile with tool access. Omit for a plain completion with no tools.

Capture Output

claude --model opus --print --output-format text -- "Prompt" > .tmp/claude-output.txt 2>&1

Redirect to a file for consumption by aggregation steps. Capturing both stdout and stderr (2>&1) avoids lost error messages.

Model Reference

Flag value	Model
fable	Claude Fable 5 — strongest reasoning
opus	Claude Opus 5 — strongest reasoning - best value
sonnet	Claude Sonnet 5 — balanced speed and quality
haiku	Claude Haiku 4.5 — fastest, cheapest

Host-Specific Routing

• OpenCode host: claude CLI is the only path for Claude-family models. Do not use colin-mbot-opus or similar subagents — those are for non-Claude models only.
• Claude Code host: prefer the native Agent tool; use this CLI as a fallback when the Agent tool is unavailable.
• Codex host: shell out to claude for any Claude-family model.

Caveats

• --print mode does not support interactive tool approval; the agent runs with permissions granted at session level.
• Long prompts should be written to a file and passed via --append-system-prompt, not inlined in the argument.