Item 14: Manage agents, skills, hooks, and permissions through their `/` interfaces, not config files

Verified with Claude Code 2.1.153
Stability: stable
Status: current

Why this matters

Claude Code exposes interactive / commands for nearly every configurable surface: /agents for subagents, /skills for skill visibility and overrides, /hooks for lifecycle hooks, /permissions for tool allow/ask/deny rules, /mcp for MCP server connections and OAuth, /plugin for plugin management, /memory for CLAUDE.md and auto-memory, /config for the rest. Each one shows current state, validates input, and surfaces options the underlying JSON doesn’t make obvious — like which scope a rule lives in, which overrides apply, and which entries are active versus orphaned.

Hand-editing the config files works and is sometimes faster for known changes. But for anything you’re not 100% sure about — field name, valid value, scope precedence, whether a setting is currently overridden by a higher-priority file — the interactive UIs are the safer path. They prevent the silent-failure mode where a typo in settings.json causes Claude Code to load partial configuration without telling you.

/doctor is the diagnostic counterpart. When something configuration-related is misbehaving, /doctor is the first reach, not the last. It catches install issues, settings problems, and common misconfigurations with explicit status icons and a f keystroke to apply fixes.

What to avoid

Memorizing JSON field names you could look up by pressing /permissions and tabbing through. Editing a settings file when you’re not sure which scope’s settings file actually owns the rule — the UIs make precedence visible; the files don’t. Diagnosing a broken configuration by reading source code when /doctor would have told you the answer in a second.

What to do instead

Default to the slash command for the surface you’re touching. /permissions for permission rules. /agents for subagents. /hooks for hooks. /skills to see what’s loaded and adjust visibility. /mcp to add or reauthorize a server. /memory to audit CLAUDE.md and auto-memory together. Drop down to JSON editing when you know the change you want and the UI doesn’t expose it.

/doctor belongs in your routine when anything feels off — slow startup, missing skills, unexpected permission prompts, a hook that won’t fire. It’s faster than triaging by inspection.

Example

Same change, UI versus file edit.

> /permissions
[interactive picker: scope, rule type (allow/ask/deny), pattern; saves to
 the correct settings file with no risk of mistyping the key name]

// settings.local.json — fine if you know the schema
{
  "permissions": {
    "allow": ["Bash(npm test:*)"]
  }
}

Adding an MCP server:

> /mcp
[picker for transport, command, env vars, OAuth flow if needed; rule
 lands in the right scope file]

Diagnosing a misbehaving setup:

> /doctor

✓ Installation
✓ Auth
✗ Hooks  — PreToolUse hook for "Bash" command exited non-zero
✓ MCP servers
Press f to attempt fixes for failed checks.

Things to Remember

/agents, /skills, /hooks, /permissions, /mcp, /plugin, /memory are interactive UIs over the underlying configs
The UIs show current state, validate input, and surface options you’d miss editing JSON
Editing JSON is still fine — but reach for the UI when uncertain about field names or precedence
Use /doctor to diagnose configuration problems before going spelunking in settings

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