Even though we know the benefits, many people still use Claude as a glorified Google search. Let me lead by example – “Summarize this in 3 sentences maximum.” Sound familiar? Well, there might be nothing wrong with typing such information, but truth be told, all these characters are good for an article like this, not an AI chat window. Finally, you may want to use shortcuts on Claude.
And the good news is, we have plenty of them!
Here is a long list of Claude shortcuts that you can use in your daily conversations with the AI. What’s even better – they work on all other AI models too.
So without further ado, let’s dive in.
Simplify and summarize
Sometimes, you don’t want to go deep. You just want an answer, fast and clean. This is exactly where these shortcuts come in. They help Claude remove the fluff and give you something easy to hold, swing, or pass to someone.
1. ELI5
Which means “Explaining like I’m 5 years old”, use this if you want Claude to explain something like he’s a complete beginner. It’s complete with complex ideas that sound daunting at first.
2. The TLDR
Short for “Too long, I haven’t read”, this is your classic “give me some sense”. It is best used when the output is very far, and you want the main point quickly.
3. BRIEFLY
A useful shortcut if you want a short answer without sounding too restrictive. It tells Claude to keep things tight and to the point.
4. MAKE A SUMMARY
This one is for when you want to capture the essentials in a polished, decision-maker friendly format. It is especially useful for reports, long notes, or strategic documents.
Create Output
What if the real problem is not the answer itself, but the way it is presented? These shortcuts are useful if you already know the format you want and don’t want Claude to freestyle into a messy answer.
5. STEP BY STEP
Use this if you want Claude to break down the process into clear directions that go one step at a time. Perfect for tutorials, workflows, and anything educational.
6. CHECKLIST
This converts the output into a list of actions that are easy to scan. The best is to edit, review, or make sure nothing is missed.
7. FORM AS [your choice]
This is a very flexible shortcut that allows you to pre-define the shape of the response. You can ask Claude to format the response as a table, letters, email, blog outline, and more.
8. SCHEMA
This is useful if you want structured output with fixed fields. Ideal for data extraction, templates, JSON-style responses, or reproducible formats.
9. /BEGIN WITH /END WITH
A neat way to control how a response starts and ends. Useful if you need Claude to follow a very specific input or output pattern.
Set a role, tone, or audience
Half the time, I rule out AI responses because of the robot’s tone and output. Of course, being technically correct isn’t just about having a human conversation. And that’s where it helps to tell Claude to play a role with these shortcuts. This helps shape the voice, style, and target audience of the response.
10. DO AS
Use this if you want Claude to respond to a specific role or idea. It could be a salesperson, teacher, developer, consultant, or almost anyone else.
11. JAGON
This helps control how technical or simple the language should be. Useful if you want Claude to sound more professional or more beginner friendly.
12. THE AUDIENCE
A handy shortcut for telling Claude what the answer means. This can completely change the way the definition is constructed.
13. THE VICE
Use this to shape the tone of the response, whether you want it to be formal, casual, engaging, sharp, friendly, or something else.
14. DEV METHOD
This pushes Claude towards a technical, architect-style response. Great for coding, system design, debugging, or product development discussions.
Analyze from different angles
You may not always want a straight answer. You want to compare options, think logically, or look at the same problem from multiple angles before you decide what makes the most sense. These shortcuts are really good for that kind of deep thinking.
15. Compare
Use this if you want Claude to place two or more options side by side. Perfect for measuring tools, ideas, strategies, or decisions.
16. SWOT
A quick way to discover strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It is very useful for business ideas, products, or strategic planning.
17. MULTIPLE IDEAS
This tells Claude to look at the same topic from different perspectives. It is useful when the issue is nuanced, and one angle is not enough.
18. RELATED LENSES
It is a smart shortcut to analyze something by using different frameworks simultaneously, such as business, technical, and user experience angles.
19. FIRST PRINCIPLES
Use this if you want Claude to strip the story down to its foundations and think from the ground up. It’s great for simplifying complex problems.
20. MILLIONS
This made Claude focus on what could go wrong. It is very useful to plan, execute, or stress test an idea before moving forward.
Direct Consultation and Rewriting
If you let the AI run wild with its thoughts, the scope of its imagination may surprise you. But you’re not always in the mood for something like creativity. Sometimes, you want Claude to think a certain way or a certain way. Basically, it directs how it gets to the answer. These shortcuts help you do just that by streamlining the model’s thinking process or modifying the output.
21. MOMO STACK
Use this if you want Claude to consider multiple layers of context before responding. It is useful for complex tasks where one-line information is not enough.
22. CHOICE OF THINKING
This pushes Claude to think about the problem instead of jumping to conclusions. Which means you get to see all the thinking that goes on behind the scenes. Great for complex questions or layered logic.
Read: What is Chain-of-Caught Prompting and its benefits?
23. DELIBERATE THINKING
A useful shortcut if you want a slower, more thoughtful response. It moved Claude to think deeply before he answered.
24. REWRITE AS
This is for when the core idea is good, but the presentation is not. You can use it to quickly change text to a different style, tone, or format.
Improve Quality and Add Monitors
Sometimes, Claude gives you a polite, but not thorough answer. It may miss blind spots, lean too much into generalities, or quickly overlook nuance. These shortcuts help slow things down a bit and push the model to a sharper, more balanced, and more reliable output.
25. METHOD OF DISPLAY
Use this if you want Claude to think about his answer before finalizing it. Useful for nuanced or difficult judgment tasks.
26. PROGRAM TESTING
This tells Claude to look for biases, areas of disagreement, or one-sided assumptions in the answer. It is very useful when dealing with sensitive or opinion-based topics.
27. EVAL-SELF
A useful shortcut when you want Claude to review his own answer and identify weaknesses. It can help improve clarity, completeness, or understanding.
28. THE WATCHMAN
Use this to set parameters around the response. Great if you want Claude to stay within a certain range, tone, or risk level.
The conclusion
As seen in the examples I’ve shared here, the beauty of these Claude shortcuts is that they work for all AI chatbots. Moreover, these do not ask you to become a fast developer overnight. They’re small tweaks, but they can make a big difference in how clean, sharp, and useful the output feels.
So the next time you’re about to type full instructions like a Victorian letter, pause for a second. Chances are, one shortcut can do the job faster.
Sign in to continue reading and enjoy content curated by experts.
