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You can configure Claude’s behavior for a specific project by adding a CLAUDE.md file to your project root or to ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md for global settings. Claurst automatically discovers and injects these files into the system prompt at startup. See CLAUDE.md configuration for details.
1

Build from source

Clone the repository and build the release binary with Cargo.
git clone https://github.com/yocxy2/claurst
cd claurst/src-rust
cargo build --release
This produces a single binary at target/release/claude. Building in release mode is recommended — it enables full optimizations and produces a significantly faster binary.For full installation options including PATH setup and pre-built binaries, see the Installation guide.
2

Set your API key

Claurst connects to the Anthropic API. Export your API key before running the binary.
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-..."
To make this permanent, add the export line to your ~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, or equivalent shell profile. You can also pass the key inline at runtime with --api-key.Get an API key from the Anthropic console.
3

Open the interactive terminal

Run claude from any project directory to open the interactive TUI.
./target/release/claude
Or, if you have added the binary to your PATH:
claude
Claurst opens a full terminal UI powered by ratatui. You will see a message history area, an input box at the bottom, and a status bar showing the current model and session cost. Streaming responses appear in real time as Claude types.Keyboard shortcuts in the TUI:
KeyAction
EnterSubmit prompt
Ctrl+CCancel streaming / clear input / quit
Ctrl+DQuit (when input is empty)
Up / DownNavigate input history
Page Up / Page DownScroll message history
F1 or ?Toggle help overlay
4

Try your first prompt

Type a prompt and press Enter. Claude will respond in the message area, and you will see tool calls appear as status messages while they run.
> Explain what this project does based on the README
Claude reads your project files, runs tools as needed, and streams its response directly in the terminal. Tool executions show a status message like Running Read... while in progress.For a non-interactive one-shot command (useful for scripts), pass the prompt directly:
claude "List all TODO comments in the codebase"
5

Use a slash command

Slash commands give you direct control over the session. Type / to start a command.
> /help
/help lists every available slash command with a short description. Use it any time you want to discover what’s available — there are 34 built-in commands covering session management, model switching, MCP server control, git workflows, and more.
A few commands worth trying right away:
CommandWhat it does
/modelShow or change the active Claude model
/costDisplay cumulative token cost for the session
/compactManually compact the conversation to save context
/planEnter plan mode (read-only — Claude proposes, you approve)
/statusShow session metadata and current configuration
/clearClear conversation history and start fresh
See the Commands reference for the complete list.

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Next steps

Installation

PATH setup, environment variables, feature flags, and system requirements.

CLAUDE.md configuration

Teach Claude about your project with a persistent project-level instruction file.

Tools reference

Every tool Claude can invoke: file ops, shell, web, agents, cron, and more.

MCP integration

Extend Claurst with external Model Context Protocol servers.

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