majiayu000 Claude Code Session Tips
Quick reference for effective Claude Code usage.
Session Management
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| Clear context | /clear (rename first with /rename for easy return) |
| Resume session | claude --resume <session-id> |
| Fork session | claude --continue --fork-session (branch off without modifying original) |
| Clear input area | Esc Esc (double-tap) |
| Clear single line | Ctrl+U (shell shortcut) |
| Stash input | Ctrl+S - saves draft, auto-restores after next submit (#14740, source) |
| Optimize Rules | /claude-md-improver |
Context Hygiene
/clearaggressively - long contexts slow responses/renamebefore clearing to make sessions findable
Quota Management (Max Subscription)
Key insight: Context size counts toward your quota. Each turn re-sends the entire conversation history.
| Context size | Per-turn cost |
|---|---|
| 20k (fresh) | 1x |
| 100k | 5x |
| 180k | 9x |
The rule: If your next question doesn't need previous context, /clear first.
Mid-work one-off questions:
- Option A: Ask parent to spawn subagent → still costs 1 parent turn
- Option B: New Ghostty tab → cheaper IF you use the knowledge implicitly without pasting back
- Best: New tab, absorb answer yourself, continue in parent with informed instructions
Auto-Compact Buffer (source, docs)
Formula: buffer = 13k + maxOutputTokens
CLAUDE_CODE_MAX_OUTPUT_TOKENS |
Buffer | Effective Context |
|---|---|---|
| 22k (more context) | 35k | ~165k |
| 32k (default) | 45k | ~155k |
| 64k (max) | 77k | ~123k |
Trade-off: lower output tokens = more context but shorter max responses.
Theming & Appearance
Toggle CC's syntax theme: /config → Theme → Ctrl+T