Use /clear to Reset Context and Refocus a Drifting Session
Long sessions accumulate context — earlier failed attempts, abandoned approaches, and outdated assumptions can subtly influence Claude's later responses. The /clear command resets the conversation history without ending your session.
/clear
This discards the conversation history but keeps you in the same session, working directory, and environment. It is the right move when:
- You went down a wrong path and want a clean slate without the baggage of failed attempts in context
- The context window is filling up and responses feel unfocused or inconsistent
- You have finished one task and want to start a fresh thread with no carryover from the previous one
Unlike starting a completely new session (claude in a fresh terminal), /clear preserves your working directory, any environment variables loaded via hooks, and the session name. You are immediately ready for a new task in the same setup.
It is also different from /undo, which rolls back file changes. /clear only affects the conversation — it does not revert any edits Claude made to your files.
A useful pattern: after a feature lands and is committed to git, run /clear. The old discussion is preserved in git history and session logs if you need it. Claude's context window is now completely clear for the next task.
# After committing, clear and start fresh
git commit -m "feat: add payment webhook handler"
# then in Claude Code:
/clear
When a session feels cluttered, /clear is faster than starting over.
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When typing feels slow — describing a complex bug, explaining architecture, or thinking through a problem out loud — press Option+V to switch to voice input. Speak naturally and Claude Code transcribes your words into a prompt, so you can describe what you need at the speed of thought.
When Claude is heading down the wrong path — editing the wrong file, writing code you don't want, or giving a long explanation you don't need — press Escape to stop it immediately. You keep everything it did up to that point and can redirect with a new prompt.
Closed a session and realized you weren't done? Pass --continue (or -c) when launching Claude Code to pick up exactly where you left off — same context, same files, same conversation history — without re-explaining what you were working on.