# Claude CLI Comprehensive Testing Summary
## ✅ Successfully Tested & Working
### 1. Model Selection ✅
- **Sonnet**: Default, cost-effective ($0.01 for simple queries)
- **Opus**: Higher quality, ~3x more expensive ($0.03 for same query)
- **Haiku**: Fastest, cheapest (used for some internal operations)
- Selection via `--model` flag works perfectly
### 2. Token Usage & Cost Tracking ✅
**Full visibility into:**
- Input/output token counts
- Total cost per request (USD)
- Per-model breakdown (Haiku/Sonnet/Opus)
- Cache usage (creation/read tokens)
- Response duration (ms)
- Session IDs and request UUIDs
**Example JSON output:**
```json
{
"usage": {
"input_tokens": 2,
"output_tokens": 68,
"cache_creation_input_tokens": 17510,
"cache_read_input_tokens": 0
},
"total_cost_usd": 0.012709999999999999,
"duration_ms": 3182,
"modelUsage": {
"claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929": {
"inputTokens": 610,
"outputTokens": 201,
"costUSD": 0.011342999999999999
}
}
}
```
### 3. Streaming Output ✅
- Real-time streaming with `--output-format stream-json`
- Requires `--verbose --include-partial-messages`
- Multiple chunks per response
- Event types: `system`, `stream_event`, `message_start`, `content_block_delta`, etc.
### 4. Output Formats ✅
- `text` (default) - Plain text
- `json` - Single JSON with full metadata
- `stream-json` - Real-time streaming (requires `--verbose`)
### 5. Debug Mode ✅
- `--debug [filter]` for detailed logging
- Categories: `api`, `hooks`, `statsig`, `file`
- Can filter: `"api,hooks"` or `"!statsig,!file"`
### 6. MCP Server Registration ✅
- Server successfully registered: `imagine: ✓ Connected`
- Tools visible: `mcp__imagine__update_ui`, `mcp__imagine__log_thought`
- MCP commands work: `claude mcp list`, `claude mcp get imagine`
## ⚠️ Partially Working / Needs Investigation
### 1. MCP Tool Execution ⚠️
**Status:** Tools are visible but execution is inconsistent
**Findings:**
- ✅ Tools appear in tool list: `mcp__imagine__update_ui`, `mcp__imagine__log_thought`
- ⚠️ Sometimes Claude says tools are "not available"
- ⚠️ Sometimes requires "permission" to use tools
- ⚠️ Server must be running before Claude starts
**Possible Issues:**
1. **Timing**: Server needs to be running and ready before Claude queries tools
2. **Permissions**: May need explicit permission granting for MCP tools
3. **Connection**: stdio connection may be intermittent
4. **Session**: Each `--print` call may create new MCP connection
**Workaround:**
- Start server first: `node server-mcp.js &`
- Wait 2-3 seconds
- Then run Claude CLI
- May need interactive mode instead of `--print`
### 2. State Management ⚠️
**Status:** `--print` mode doesn't maintain state
**Behavior:**
- Each `claude --print` call is independent
- No conversation history between calls
- Cannot test "remembering" across calls
**Solution:**
- Use interactive mode (`claude` without `--print`) for state
- Or use `--continue` / `--resume` flags for session management
## ❌ Not Tested / Unknown
### 1. Thinking Mode
- Not tested - may require interactive mode
- May be model-specific (Opus?)
- May need special configuration
### 2. Multimodality
- Image inputs not tested
- File attachments not tested
- Mixed content types not tested
### 3. Tool Budgets/Limits
- No explicit budget limits found in output
- Token limits may be account-based
- Rate limiting not visible in output
## 📊 Cost Analysis
### Token Costs (from tests):
**Simple Query (2+2):**
- Sonnet: $0.01 (2 input, 4 output tokens)
- Opus: $0.03 (2 input, 4 output tokens)
- **Opus is 3x more expensive**
**Complex Query (50 words about AI):**
- Sonnet: $0.0127 (2 input, 68 output tokens)
- Duration: 3182ms
### Cache Impact:
- `cache_creation_input_tokens`: 17,510 (one-time cost)
- `cache_read_input_tokens`: 0 (no cache hits yet)
- **Cache can significantly reduce costs** for repeated queries
### Cost Optimization Tips:
1. Use **Sonnet** for most tasks (cost-effective)
2. Use **Opus** only for complex reasoning
3. Enable **caching** when possible
4. Monitor `total_cost_usd` to track spending
5. Check `input_tokens` vs `output_tokens` ratio
## 🔍 Telemetry & Monitoring
### Available Metrics:
✅ Token counts (input/output/cache)
✅ Cost tracking (per request, per model)
✅ Duration (API response time)
✅ Cache hit rates
✅ Session IDs
✅ Request UUIDs
✅ Model usage breakdown
### Debug Information:
✅ API calls and responses
✅ MCP server connections
✅ Tool execution attempts
✅ Error details
## 🚀 Best Practices
### 1. Model Selection:
```bash
# Cost-effective (default)
claude --print --model sonnet "prompt"
# Highest quality (3x cost)
claude --print --model opus "prompt"
# Fastest, cheapest
claude --print --model haiku "prompt"
```
### 2. Token Tracking:
```bash
# Get detailed token usage
claude --print --model sonnet --output-format json "prompt"
# Monitor costs
# Check: total_cost_usd, usage.input_tokens, usage.output_tokens
```
### 3. Streaming:
```bash
# Real-time streaming
claude --print --model sonnet \
--output-format stream-json \
--verbose \
--include-partial-messages \
"prompt"
```
### 4. MCP Tools:
```bash
# List MCP servers
claude mcp list
# Get server details
claude mcp get imagine
# Use MCP tools (when available)
# Tools prefixed with: mcp__imagine__
```
### 5. Debugging:
```bash
# API-level debugging
claude --print --model sonnet --debug api "prompt"
# Multiple categories
claude --print --model sonnet --debug "api,hooks" "prompt"
```
## 🔧 Known Limitations
### 1. `--print` Mode:
- ❌ No state management (each call is independent)
- ❌ May not maintain MCP connections between calls
- ✅ Good for one-off queries and scripts
### 2. MCP Tool Execution:
- ⚠️ Requires server to be running first
- ⚠️ May need permission granting
- ⚠️ Connection may be intermittent
- ✅ Tools are discoverable when server is connected
### 3. Streaming:
- ⚠️ Requires `--verbose` flag
- ⚠️ Only works with `stream-json` format
- ✅ Works well for long responses
## 📝 Command Reference
### Basic Usage:
```bash
# Simple query
claude --print --model sonnet "prompt"
# JSON output with tokens
claude --print --model sonnet --output-format json "prompt"
# Streaming
claude --print --model sonnet --output-format stream-json --verbose --include-partial-messages "prompt"
```
### MCP Configuration:
```bash
# List MCP servers
claude mcp list
# Add MCP server
claude mcp add-json name '{"command":"node","args":["script.js"]}'
# Get server details
claude mcp get name
# Remove server
claude mcp remove name
```
### Debug & Monitoring:
```bash
# Debug mode
claude --print --model sonnet --debug api "prompt"
# Verbose output
claude --print --model sonnet --verbose "prompt"
```
## 🎯 Key Takeaways
1. ✅ **Token tracking is excellent** - Full visibility into costs and usage
2. ✅ **Model selection works** - Can choose Sonnet/Opus/Haiku based on needs
3. ✅ **Streaming works** - Real-time updates available
4. ✅ **MCP tools are discoverable** - Tools appear when server is connected
5. ⚠️ **MCP execution needs work** - Timing/permission issues
6. ❌ **State management** - Requires interactive mode, not `--print`
7. ✅ **Cost tracking** - Excellent visibility into spending
8. ✅ **Cache usage** - Significant cost savings possible
## 🔮 Next Steps
1. **Fix MCP Tool Execution:**
- Test with interactive mode (not `--print`)
- Ensure server starts before Claude
- Check permission system
- Test tool execution end-to-end
2. **Test State Management:**
- Use interactive mode
- Test conversation continuity
- Test memory across turns
- Use `--continue` / `--resume` flags
3. **Test Thinking Mode:**
- Check if available in interactive mode
- Test with different models
- Compare thinking vs non-thinking
4. **Test Multimodality:**
- Image inputs
- File attachments
- Mixed content types
5. **Test Tool Budgets:**
- Check for rate limits
- Test tool call limits
- Monitor token budgets
## 📈 Performance Metrics
### Response Times:
- Simple queries: ~3 seconds
- Complex queries: ~3-5 seconds
- Streaming: Real-time (chunks arrive as generated)
### Token Efficiency:
- Cache can reduce costs significantly
- Input tokens typically small (2-10 for prompts)
- Output tokens vary by response length
- Cache creation is one-time cost
### Cost Efficiency:
- Sonnet: Best balance
- Opus: Highest quality, 3x cost
- Haiku: Fastest, cheapest (internal use)
