> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/sanbuphy/claude-code-source-code/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Session Management Commands

> Commands for managing conversation history, context, cost tracking, and session lifecycle.

These commands control the lifecycle and state of your Claude Code session — clearing or compressing context, resuming previous conversations, monitoring token and cost consumption, and exiting.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="/clear" icon="broom">
    Wipe conversation history and start fresh
  </Card>

  <Card title="/compact" icon="compress">
    Summarise history into a compact context
  </Card>

  <Card title="/resume" icon="clock-rotate-left">
    Return to a previous conversation
  </Card>

  <Card title="/context" icon="chart-bar">
    Visualise current context window fill
  </Card>

  <Card title="/cost" icon="circle-dollar-to-slot">
    Show session API cost breakdown
  </Card>

  <Card title="/usage" icon="gauge">
    Show plan usage limits
  </Card>

  <Card title="/exit" icon="door-open">
    Quit Claude Code
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

***

## /clear

Clears the entire conversation history and frees up context. Equivalent to starting a brand-new session while staying in the same terminal.

**Aliases:** `reset`, `new`\
**Arguments:** none\
**Non-interactive:** no

### When to use

* The conversation has drifted off-topic and you want a clean slate.
* You've hit the context limit and `/compact` is not sufficient.
* You want to start a completely unrelated task.

<Warning>
  `/clear` permanently discards the current conversation history from the REPL. It is not recoverable after the session ends. Use `/compact` if you want to retain a summary for continuity.
</Warning>

### Example

```
> /clear

  Conversation cleared. Starting fresh.
```

***

## /compact

Compresses the current conversation into a summary and continues with that summary as the new context. This frees up a large portion of the context window while preserving the essential history.

**Arguments:** `[optional summarisation instructions]`\
**Non-interactive:** yes (can be used in `--print` mode)\
**Disabled by:** `DISABLE_COMPACT=1` environment variable

### How it works

1. Claude Code sends the current conversation to the model with an internal summarisation prompt.
2. The model produces a concise summary capturing key decisions, code changes, and outstanding tasks.
3. The conversation is replaced with the summary as a system message, freeing context.
4. If session memory is configured, the summary is also written to the session memory file.

### Custom summarisation instructions

Pass an optional argument to guide what the summary prioritises:

```
> /compact focus on the changes we made to the authentication module
```

Without arguments, the default summarisation prompt is used, which tries to capture all important context.

<Info>
  `/compact` is also triggered automatically by Claude Code when the context window is approaching its limit, unless disabled by configuration.
</Info>

### Examples

Compact with default instructions:

```
> /compact

  Compacting conversation... done.
  Summary written. Context reduced from 87% → 12%.
```

Compact with custom focus:

```
> /compact only keep context about the database schema and migration plan
```

Compact in non-interactive (print) mode:

```bash theme={null}
claude --print "/compact"
```

***

## /resume

Opens a session picker that lets you search through and resume previous Claude Code conversations. When resumed, the full conversation history is loaded back into context.

**Aliases:** `continue`\
**Arguments:** `[conversation id or search term]`\
**Non-interactive:** no

### Usage

Run without arguments to open the interactive session browser:

```
> /resume
```

Pass a session ID or search term to jump directly to a match:

```
> /resume auth-refactor
> /resume 01J8KZ...
```

### Session browser

The browser shows sessions sorted by most recent activity. You can:

* Type to filter by session content or description
* Use arrow keys to navigate
* Press Enter to load the selected session

<Tip>
  Sessions are stored in `~/.claude/projects/`. Each project directory contains `.jsonl` transcript files named by session ID.
</Tip>

***

## /context

Displays the current context window utilisation as a colour-coded grid. Each cell represents a fraction of the total context window.

**Arguments:** none\
**Non-interactive:** yes (shows raw numbers in non-interactive mode)

### Example output

```
> /context

  Context window: ████████████████░░░░░░░░  63% used
  Tokens: 81,920 / 128,000
  ├─ System prompt:   4,200
  ├─ Tool definitions: 3,100
  ├─ Conversation:   74,620
```

Colours shift from green → yellow → red as the window fills. When above \~80%, consider running `/compact` or starting a new session with `/clear`.

***

## /cost

Shows the total API cost and time elapsed for the current session, broken down by model and token type.

**Arguments:** none\
**Non-interactive:** yes\
**Hidden for:** claude.ai subscribers (cost is covered by subscription)

### Example output

```
> /cost

  Session cost summary
  ─────────────────────────────────────
  Duration:          14m 32s
  Input tokens:      124,510   $0.3735
  Output tokens:      18,204   $0.2731
  Cache write:        41,200   $0.0412
  Cache read:         82,800   $0.0083
  ─────────────────────────────────────
  Total:                       $0.6961
```

<Note>
  `/cost` shows the cost for the **current session only**. Use `/insights` to analyse costs across multiple historical sessions.
</Note>

***

## /usage

Displays your plan usage against the current billing period's limits. Available to claude.ai subscribers only.

**Arguments:** none\
**Availability:** claude.ai subscribers

### Example output

```
> /usage

  Plan: Pro
  ─────────────────────────────────────────────
  Messages this period:   342 / unlimited
  Opus usage:              28 / 50  ████████░░  56%
  Resets:                 in 18 days
```

***

## /exit

Exits the Claude Code REPL immediately. Any unsaved state (conversation history, background tasks) is cleaned up gracefully.

**Aliases:** `quit`\
**Arguments:** none

### Example

```
> /exit
```

You can also exit with the standard terminal shortcut `Ctrl+D` (sends EOF) or `Ctrl+C` twice in quick succession.

<Info>
  Background tasks started with `run_in_background: true` are terminated when you exit. If you want them to continue, detach from the session instead of exiting.
</Info>

***

## /export

Exports the current conversation to a file in your chosen format. Useful for sharing transcripts or archiving sessions.

**Arguments:** `[path]`

```
> /export
> /export ~/Desktop/session-transcript.md
```

***

## /rewind

Steps back to an earlier point in the conversation, discarding messages after the selected checkpoint.

**Arguments:** none (opens interactive rewind UI)

```
> /rewind
```

Use arrow keys to select how far back to rewind. Messages after the selected point are removed from context.