[Feature Request] /clear --keep-session: clear conversation context without creating a new session

[Loong0x00]

Summary

Currently, /clear resets the conversation and creates a new session. There is no way to simply clear the conversation history while keeping the same session identity.

Use Case

When using Claude Code as a general-purpose assistant across multiple tasks within one working session, I frequently want to:

1. Clear the accumulated conversation context (to free up context window)
2. Without starting a brand new session

The current behavior of /clear creates a new session ID and loses session-level state, which feels like "starting over" rather than just "clearing the chat."

/compact is an alternative, but it compresses rather than clears — the summarized context from previous tasks still pollutes the window when switching to unrelated work.

Proposed Solution

Add a flag to /clear, e.g.:

/clear --keep-session

or a separate command like /reset:

• Clears the conversation messages array (same as current /clear)
• Keeps the current session ID and session metadata
• Still loads CLAUDE.md and memory files (as usual)

This is essentially: "forget what we talked about, but don't create a new session."

Alternatives Considered

• Using /compact — doesn't fully clear, summarized context accumulates
• Using /clear — works but creates a new session unnecessarily
• Writing important info to memory files — helps, but doesn't address the core UX issue of session identity discontinuity

Environment

• Claude Code 2.1.69
• Arch Linux

[Loong0x00]

Additional note on naming semantics:

The current behavior of /clear is essentially "create a new session" — but the word "clear" universally means "erase/reset the current thing", not "create a new one."

For comparison:

• clear in terminal → clears the screen, doesn't open a new terminal
• localStorage.clear() → empties the storage, doesn't create a new storage
• "Clear chat" in ChatGPT → clears messages, same session context

The current /clear behavior would be more accurately named /new or /new-session. The word "clear" strongly implies "clear the conversation history in the current session", which is exactly the feature being requested here.

This naming mismatch is confusing — users expect /clear to clear context, not to start a brand new session.

[maximstewart]

Bumping b/c I don't want new session but just cleared

[spundun]

My 0.02$: I was actually looking for a command to start a new clean session while keeping the current conversation in the archive. apparently /clear does exactly that, but I kept avoiding /clear because I had assumed I'd lose the current conversation forever. So I'm with the OP on the stance that the naming is confusing, although I wanted the contrasting behavior, now that I know clear does in-fact mean /new... I'll start using it.

[github-actions]

Closing for now — inactive for too long. Please open a new issue if this is still relevant.

[github-actions]

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