Compress a Specific Part of Your Session with Summarize from Here
When a debugging detour has ballooned your context, /compact compresses everything, which can erase useful early instructions. "Summarize from here" gives you surgical control instead, letting you compress just the noisy middle while keeping your original context intact.
Open the rewind menu with Esc twice, or type /rewind. A scrollable list shows every prompt in your session. Select the message where things got verbose, then choose Summarize from here.
What happens:
- Messages before your selection stay untouched in full detail.
- The selected message and everything after it get replaced with a compact AI-generated summary.
- Your files on disk are not changed.
- The original messages are preserved in the session transcript, so Claude can still reference the details if needed.
You can type optional instructions to guide the summary:
focus on the bug we found and ignore the failed approaches
This is different from /rewind restore options, which actually revert code and conversation state. "Summarize from here" keeps you in the same session and just frees up space.
It's also different from /compact, which summarises the full conversation. Use "Summarize from here" when:
- You want to keep early instructions and context in full fidelity.
- A specific debugging session or back-and-forth took many turns.
- You're approaching the context limit but still want to continue.
Summarize from here is /compact with a scalpel instead of a sledgehammer.
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When Claude starts referencing files you've since deleted, remembering old code you've already changed, or getting confused by contradictory instructions from a long session — type /clear to wipe the slate clean. Unlike /compact which preserves context, /clear gives you a true fresh start without restarting the CLI.
Not every task needs deep reasoning. Type /fast to switch Claude Code into fast mode — same model, faster output — for quick edits, simple questions, and routine changes. Toggle it off when you need Claude to think harder on complex problems.
Long sessions eat through your context window as conversation history piles up. Type /compact to summarize the conversation so far and reclaim space — keeping Claude's understanding of what you're working on while freeing up room for more work.