gogongxt/dotfiles/claude-help

Claude Help

Search and read authoritative Claude Code information: official documentation, the changelog, and GitHub issues in anthropics/claude-code. Answers "how do I…", "what does X do", "is this a known issue", and "what changed in version Y" questions.

When to Use

• User asks how Claude Code works (features, hooks, slash commands, settings, env vars, flags, MCP, IDE integrations).
• User asks what a specific setting / env var / CLI flag means.
• User wants release notes or what changed in a version.
• User hit an error / odd behavior and wants to find a known issue.
• User asks to search Claude Code GitHub issues (bugs, feature requests, questions).

CRITICAL: Network, Proxy & Fetcher Rules

There are three independent fetchers — they fail differently. Know which one you're using.

So:

• Reading docs via WebFetch or Exa crawl → just call it. No proxy.
• Searching issues / changelog via `gh` or `curl` → proxy is required. Read the `/proxy` skill for the correct command form (when proxy is needed, how to enable it, and the reminder that each Bash call is a fresh shell). Do not inline proxy on here — the /proxy skill is the source of truth.
• If a Bash network command fails, the most common cause is proxy not enabled or a flaky proxy. Consult the /proxy skill and retry once with proxy explicitly enabled before assuming the endpoint is down.

Known geo-block + the Exa bypass (important)

code.claude.com/docs/en/* is reachable via WebFetch. But platform.claude.com/docs/* (where the model-overview / max-output-tokens table lives) 307-redirects to "app unavailable in region" under WebFetch in some networks.

Exa's crawler bypasses this — mcp__exa__crawling_exa fetches platform.claude.com pages in full (verified). So when WebFetch reports that 307 redirect, do not chase it — re-fetch the same URL with mcp__exa__crawling_exa instead, then fall back to gh/Exa search only if Exa also fails.

Which Exa tool to use

Exa tools are only present if the Exa MCP server is connected. If the tools aren't available, silently fall back to WebSearch/WebFetch.

Sources, in order of preference

Try the cheapest reliable source first; escalate only if it's empty.

1. Local changelog cache — ~/.claude/cache/changelog.md (~418k, offline, always works). Best for "what changed in version X" / "when was feature Y added". No proxy needed.
2. Official docs via WebFetch — https://code.claude.com/docs/en/<page>.md (note the .md suffix for clean markdown). Best for how-to / settings / env vars / flags. No proxy needed. If WebFetch geo-blocks (307 on platform.claude.com), re-fetch with mcp__exa__crawling_exa.
3. GitHub issues via gh — anthropics/claude-code. Best for known bugs / behavior questions / confirming whether something is a reported issue. Needs proxy (see `/proxy`).
4. Web search via Exa (mcp__exa__web_search_exa, preferred) or WebSearch (fallback) — for recent info, when docs/gh are blocked, or to find a known URL before crawling it. No proxy needed.

Workflows

A. "What does X do?" (setting / env var / flag / feature)

1. Check the local changelog first if it sounds version-recent:

``bash grep -n -i "<term>" ~/.claude/cache/changelog.md | head -20 ``

1. Fetch the relevant docs page (no proxy):

`` WebFetch url="https://code.claude.com/docs/en/settings.md" prompt="What does <X> do?" ` Common pages: settings, env-vars, cli-reference, hooks, slash-commands, mcp, model-config, costs, statusline, ide-integrations`.

1. If WebFetch geo-blocks the URL (307 redirect on platform.claude.com), re-fetch the exact same URL with mcp__exa__crawling_exa — it bypasses the block (verified).
2. Delegate for hard "how do I / does Claude" questions: spawn the claude-code-guide agent (purpose-built for Claude Code / SDK / API Q&A). It can search docs + release notes for you.
3. If docs are geo-blocked or empty after the Exa retry, fall back to Exa/WebSearch, then to grepping the changelog.

B. "What changed in version X?" / release notes

1. Grep the local changelog (offline, fast):

``bash grep -n -i "^## 2.1.<X>\|<feature-term>" ~/.claude/cache/changelog.md | head -30 ``

1. Present the matching ## <version> entry. Quote it; don't paraphrase behavior.

C. "Is this a known issue?" / search GitHub issues

This is the workflow that needs proxy + gh together — the network problem the user mentioned.

Do NOT hand-roll the `gh` commands or proxy incantation here. Read the `/github` skill — it is the source of truth for:

• proxy setup + the connectivity check sequence (it composes /proxy internally),
• the exact gh issue list / gh issue view / gh api search/issues commands and their qualifiers,
• the present-findings and create-issue (approval-gated) steps.

Workflow using those skills:

1. Read `/github` to load the issue-search workflow (and let it handle proxy via /proxy).
2. Target repo: anthropics/claude-code (unless the user names another).
3. Extract keywords from the user's description: error text, flag/function names, concepts. Drop stop words.
4. Search open + closed issues using the commands from /github (closed issues often carry the fix). Use --repo anthropics/claude-code.
5. Read a specific issue + comments using the read-issue step from `/github`, scoped to --repo anthropics/claude-code and --comments for the full discussion.
6. Present findings: exact matches (link + state), related issues, any known workaround from closed issues, and a verdict (known? open/closed? fix merged?).
7. If nothing matches: try broader keywords, then say it may be unreported and offer to draft a new issue — never create/comment on an issue without explicit user approval (per /github).

D. Network failure recovery

If a gh command fails:

1. Was proxy enabled for that Bash call? Each Bash call is a fresh shell — consult `/proxy` for the correct enable command and re-run with proxy on.
2. Still failing? Use `/proxy`'s status check to diagnose, and enable explicitly — avoid the toggle alias (it can flip proxy off by accident). See /proxy for the exact commands.
3. If proxy is up but GitHub still fails, search via Exa (mcp__exa__web_search_exa) for the issue with the error text + "claude code issue" (no proxy needed); fall back to WebSearch if Exa is unavailable.
4. For geo-blocked doc URLs, re-fetch with mcp__exa__crawling_exa (verified bypass) before giving up.
5. As a last resort, suggest the user open the docs/issue URL directly in a browser.

Answering

• Cite the source (docs URL, changelog version line, or issue number + link) for every non-obvious claim.
• If a source was unreachable (geo-block / network), say so explicitly and note which source you used instead — don't silently substitute.
• Quote docs/changelog verbatim for exact behavior; paraphrase only for summary.
• If the answer is model-dependent or version-dependent and you couldn't pin down the exact number, say that plainly rather than guessing.

Notes

• This skill orchestrates; it does not duplicate commands. For proxy enablement and the exact gh/issue workflows, read the `/proxy` and `/github` skills — they are the source of truth and stay current. Inlining their commands here would drift.
• Three fetchers, three rules: WebFetch/WebSearch and Exa MCP = no proxy; gh/curl/git in Bash = proxy required (see /proxy), every call.
• Exa MCP bypasses the `platform.claude.com` geo-block that WebFetch hits — use mcp__exa__crawling_exa to re-fetch any URL WebFetch 307-redirects. If Exa tools aren't connected, silently fall back to WebSearch.
• Local changelog at ~/.claude/cache/changelog.md is the fastest, most reliable source for version-specific questions — use it first.
• code.claude.com/docs/en/* works via WebFetch; platform.claude.com/docs/* is geo-blocked under WebFetch but reachable via Exa.
• Exa web_search_advanced_exa can return very large payloads — always pass numResults ≤ 5 and textMaxCharacters, and prefer includeDomains to official sources.
• Delegate deep Claude Code / SDK / API Q&A to the claude-code-guide agent when a single docs page won't suffice.
• Never create or comment on anthropics/claude-code issues without explicit user approval.
• Composes: /proxy (proxy enablement) and /github (gh + issue workflows) for the underlying commands.