[DOCS] Ctrl+L keyboard shortcut docs still say it clears prompt input

[coygeek]

Documentation Type

Incorrect/outdated documentation

Documentation Location

https://code.claude.com/docs/en/interactive-mode

Section/Topic

Keyboard shortcuts table, Ctrl+L row

Current Documentation

The interactive mode docs currently describe Ctrl+L as clearing typed input:

Ctrl+L | Clear prompt input and redraw screen | Clears typed text and forces a full terminal redraw. Conversation history is kept. Use this to recover if the display becomes garbled or partially blank

The keybindings reference also maps Ctrl+L to chat:clearInput:

chat:clearInput | Ctrl+L | Clear prompt input and force a full screen redraw. In fullscreen rendering, press twice within two seconds to run /clear

The fullscreen page repeats the old first-press behavior:

Press Ctrl+L twice within two seconds to run /clear and start a new conversation. The first press clears the input box and shows a hint; the second press clears the conversation.

However, the v2.1.126 changelog says the behavior changed:

Fixed Ctrl+L clearing the prompt input - it now only forces a screen redraw, matching readline behavior

What's Wrong or Missing?

The Claude Code docs still document the pre-v2.1.126 behavior where pressing Ctrl+L clears prompt input. In v2.1.126, Ctrl+L was fixed to only force a screen redraw and no longer clear the prompt input.

This leaves the keyboard shortcut documentation internally inconsistent with the changelog and may cause users to expect prompt text loss when using the redraw shortcut.

Suggested Improvement

Update the affected Ctrl+L descriptions to match the v2.1.126 behavior.

For example, change the interactive mode row from:

Clear prompt input and redraw screen

to:

Redraw screen

And change the description from:

Clears typed text and forces a full terminal redraw.

to:

Forces a full terminal redraw without clearing typed text.

Also update the keybindings reference so Ctrl+L is no longer documented as chat:clearInput unless that action name remains correct internally for compatibility reasons. If the fullscreen double-press behavior still exists, clarify that the first press redraws the screen and shows the /clear hint without clearing the input box.

Impact

Medium - Makes feature difficult to understand

Additional Context

Affected Pages:

Page	Line(s)	Context
https://code.claude.com/docs/en/interactive-mode	31	Ctrl+L row says it clears prompt input and typed text
https://code.claude.com/docs/en/keybindings	105	chat:clearInput row maps Ctrl+L to clearing prompt input and forcing redraw
https://code.claude.com/docs/en/fullscreen	121	Double-press /clear docs say the first Ctrl+L press clears the input box
https://code.claude.com/docs/en/changelog	36	v2.1.126 changelog says Ctrl+L now only forces a screen redraw

Total scope: 3 documentation pages appear outdated, with the changelog providing the current behavior reference.

[github-actions]

Found 1 possible duplicate issue:

1. [DOCS] Interactive mode and keybindings docs show outdated Ctrl+L behavior #49305

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

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[coygeek]

Issue #55195 Verification

Title: [DOCS] Ctrl+L keyboard shortcut docs still say it clears prompt input
Issue Date: 2026-05-01
Verification Date: 2026-05-01
Status: RESOLVED

---

Issue Summary

This issue reports that the Claude Code documentation still describes Ctrl+L as clearing prompt input, despite v2.1.126 changing the behavior to only force a screen redraw (matching readline behavior). Three pages were flagged as potentially outdated: interactive-mode, keybindings, and fullscreen.

---

Verification Results

Claim 1: interactive-mode.md Ctrl+L row still says it clears prompt input

Status: RESOLVED

At https://code.claude.com/docs/en/interactive-mode, line 31:

| `Ctrl+L` | Redraw screen | Forces a full terminal redraw. Input and conversation history are kept. Use this to recover if the display becomes garbled or partially blank |

The documentation has already been updated. The description says "Forces a full terminal redraw" and explicitly states "Input and conversation history are kept." The pre-v2.1.126 language ("Clear prompt input and redraw screen", "Clears typed text") is no longer present. The current docs correctly reflect the v2.1.126 behavior.

---

Claim 2: keybindings.md maps Ctrl+L to chat:clearInput with old description

Status: RESOLVED

At https://code.claude.com/docs/en/keybindings, line 105:

| `chat:clearInput` | Ctrl+L | Force a full screen redraw, preserving input. In fullscreen rendering, press twice within two seconds to run `/clear` |

The action name chat:clearInput remains, but the description has been updated. It now says "Force a full screen redraw, preserving input" — explicitly noting that input is NOT cleared. The pre-v2.1.126 description ("clearing prompt input and forcing redraw") is gone. The current docs correctly reflect the new behavior.

---

Claim 3: fullscreen.md still says first Ctrl+L press clears the input box

Status: RESOLVED

At https://code.claude.com/docs/en/fullscreen, line 121:

Press `Ctrl+L` twice within two seconds to run `/clear` and start a new conversation. The first press redraws the screen and shows a hint; the second press clears the conversation.

The fullscreen page correctly describes the current behavior: the first press redraws the screen, not clears the input box. This aligns with the v2.1.126 change. The old language ("first press clears the input box") is not present in the current docs.

---

Claim 4: changelog.md v2.1.126 entry confirms the behavior change

Status: RESOLVED

At https://code.claude.com/docs/en/changelog, line 36:

* Fixed `Ctrl+L` clearing the prompt input — it now only forces a screen redraw, matching readline behavior

The changelog entry is present and correctly describes the v2.1.126 change. This serves as the authoritative reference for the behavior change.

---

Current State

Claim	Status
interactive-mode.md Ctrl+L row says it clears prompt input	RESOLVED — docs updated to "Redraw screen" with "Input and conversation history are kept"
keybindings.md maps Ctrl+L to chat:clearInput with old description	RESOLVED — description now says "preserving input"
fullscreen.md says first Ctrl+L press clears input box	RESOLVED — now says "first press redraws the screen"
changelog.md v2.1.126 entry confirms the change	RESOLVED — entry present and accurate

---

Suggested Fix

N/A - issue has been resolved. All three documentation pages have been updated to reflect the v2.1.126 behavior change. Ctrl+L is correctly documented as a screen redraw that preserves input.

---

References

• URL: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/interactive-mode (lines 31)
  • Current Ctrl+L row correctly describes redraw behavior with input preserved
• URL: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/keybindings (line 105)
  • chat:clearInput correctly described as "preserving input"
• URL: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/fullscreen (line 121)
  • Correctly describes first press as "redraws the screen"
• URL: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/changelog (line 36)
  • v2.1.126 changelog entry confirms the behavior change

---

Conclusion & Recommendation

Primary Concern: Documentation was outdated relative to v2.1.126 Ctrl+L behavior change.

Resolution Status: RESOLVED

Recommendation: CLOSE

All three flagged documentation pages (interactive-mode, keybindings, fullscreen) have been corrected to reflect the current v2.1.126 behavior where Ctrl+L forces a screen redraw without clearing prompt input. The changelog reference at line 36 of changelog.md serves as the authoritative behavioral record. No further documentation action is required.

[github-actions]

This issue has been automatically locked since it was closed and has not had any activity for 7 days. If you're experiencing a similar issue, please file a new issue and reference this one if it's relevant.