[FEATURE] /new slash command to switch to a fresh session while preserving the current one

[tomouchi]

Preflight Checklist

• I have searched existing requests and this feature hasn't been requested yet
• This is a single feature request (not multiple features)

Problem Statement

Starting a new session requires exiting (/exit) and re-running claude — a minor but frequent friction. /clear clears history but doesn't create a new session, so you can't
return to the previous context via /resume. There's no way to quickly switch to a fresh session while keeping the current one alive.

Proposed Solution

Add a /new command that preserves the current session (keeps it resumable), opens a fresh new session in-place, and allows users to /resume back to the previous session
later.

Alternative Solutions

Current workaround: /exit, then run claude, then claude --resume to return. This works but adds unnecessary friction when context-switching frequently.

Priority

Medium - Would be very helpful

Feature Category

Interactive mode (TUI)

Use Case Example

1. I'm deep in a debugging session with significant context built up
2. I need to quickly look something up or work on a different feature
3. With /new, I switch to a fresh session, do the quick task
4. Then /resume back to my debugging session with all context intact
5. Similar to opening a new browser tab while keeping the old one

Additional Context

No response

[github-actions]

Found 3 possible duplicate issues:

1. [FEATURE] Keyboard shortcut to submit prompt in a fresh session (e.g., Cmd+Enter) #21646
2. [FEATURE] /restart command for in-session environment refresh #17120
3. [FEATURE] Clone/duplicate conversation to try different approaches #12941

This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.

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🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[tomouchi]

This is not a duplicate of the suggested issues:

• [FEATURE] Keyboard shortcut to submit prompt in a fresh session (e.g., Cmd+Enter) #21646 is about a keyboard shortcut to submit a prompt in a fresh context (/clear + submit as one action)
• [FEATURE] /restart command for in-session environment refresh #17120 is about /restart to refresh the environment (reload plugins/hooks) without exiting
• [FEATURE] Clone/duplicate conversation to try different approaches #12941 is about /clone to fork/duplicate a conversation to try different approaches from the same point

My request is specifically about switching to a brand-new session while preserving the current one, so you can /resume back to it later. The key difference is session persistence — none of the above issues address the ability to leave a session intact, start fresh, and return later. It's analogous to opening a new browser tab while keeping the old one.

[RickMeijer]

I found this while making the very same feature request.

Here's an idea though, you could try to wrap claude in a script that restarts on a specific exit code:

  # ~/bin/claude-tabs (make executable)
  #!/bin/bash
  while true; do
      claude "$@"
      exit_code=$?
      [[ $exit_code -eq 42 ]] || break  # Exit code 42 = restart
  done

Then a /new skill could do: exit 42

Not tested it, but Claude came up with this.

[tomouchi]

Thanks @RickMeijer, that's a creative workaround idea!

Also, a small note on my previous comment: the "browser tab" analogy would work too, but even just being able to switch sessions within the same instance would be sufficient for my use case.

[netopsengineer]

Also would like this feature, I try to keep my context windows in check and therefore my number of sessions is higher with discrete implementation in each. Having to exit and come back in is an odd behavior to try to remember each time.

[tomouchi]

Additionally, it would be great if /new could optionally accept a session name, like /new <session-name>.

This would make it easier to identify and resume specific sessions later. Currently, sessions get auto-generated names, which makes it hard to find the right one when using /resume.

Example:

/new bugfix-auth       # starts a new session named "bugfix-auth"
/new                   # starts a new session with auto-generated name (current behavior)