Claude Code Has a Hidden Interactive Tutorial: /powerup

TL;DR Type /powerup and access 18 interactive lessons with animated demos right in your terminal. Each one teaches a feature most people miss. Even if you're a power user, you'll discover something.

Since version 2.1.90, Claude Code includes a built-in lesson system. It's not static documentation — these are interactive tutorials with code snippets, animated demos, and gamified progress. Each "power-up" covers a specific feature you can try on the spot.

The interesting part: it's not just for beginners. As a heavy user, I discovered you can append & to the end of a bash command to have Claude run it in the background and supervise it — something I hadn't seen in any documentation.

Result:

> /powerup

Power-ups 0/18 unlocked ████░░░░░░░░░░░

Each power-up teaches one thing Claude Code can do
that most people miss. Open one, read it, try it, mark it done.

  o Talk to your codebase      @ files, line refs
  o Steer with modes           shift+tab, plan, auto
  o Undo anything              /rewind, Esc-Esc
  o Run in the background      tasks, /tasks
  o Teach Claude your rules    CLAUDE.md, /memory
  o Extend with tools          MCP, /mcp
  o Automate your workflow     skills, hooks
  o Multiply yourself          subagents, /agents
  o Code from anywhere         /remote-control, /teleport
  o Dial the model             /model, /effort

How to use it

1. Open the power-ups menu

/powerup

You'll see the full list with your progress. Select any to open it.

2. Read, try, mark as done

Each power-up has explanatory text, code snippets, and an animated demo. Once you've tried it, mark it as completed. Your progress is saved.

3. Discover what you didn't know

Some power-ups that surprise even advanced users:

• Run in the background: ! npm run build & — the trailing & makes Claude run the command in the background and supervise it. You can keep working. Anything you send this way shows up alongside the rest of your parallel work in the /tasks panel.
• Steer with modes: Shift+Tab cycles between default, plan, and auto mode without opening any menu.
• Undo anything: Esc+Esc opens rewind directly, without typing /rewind.

Reference

Official docs: Changelog — v2.1.90