26 Claude Code shortcuts I didn't know existed

These slash commands changed how I work inside Claude Code

April 14, 2026

I've been inside Claude Code almost every day for months. So when I scrolled past a LinkedIn post listing all 26 slash commands, I figured I'd know most of them.

I knew maybe 12.

The other 14 are sitting right there, one slash away, and they change how you work. These aren't prompts. They're power controls that run before your prompt starts. Type a slash at the very beginning of your input and Claude Code treats the rest differently.

Here's the full list, grouped by what they actually do.

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Session and Context Management

/CLEAR wipes the entire conversation and resets context. Switching tasks? Hit this first. Stops old context from bleeding into your next prompt.

/COMPACT [instructions] compresses your session and lets you pick what stays. I reach for this deep into long sessions when the context window starts feeling cramped. You tell it what matters, it trims the rest.

/RESUME [session] reopens a past conversation by name or ID. That brilliant thread from yesterday? Call it back.

/BRANCH [name] spins up a new branch from your current chat. Want to test a different direction without losing your original thread? Branch it. Works like Git.

/REWIND rolls the conversation AND code changes back to an earlier point. Made a wrong turn three messages ago? Undo the whole chain.

/RENAME [name] names your session. Skip the name and Claude picks one. Small feature, huge for staying organized when you've got a dozen sessions open.

/EXPORT [filename] dumps the full conversation to plain text. Great for docs, teammate handoffs, or saving a problem-solving session you might reference later.

Model and Usage Controls

/MODEL [model] swaps between Sonnet, Opus, and Haiku mid-session. Need speed? Haiku. Need deep reasoning? Opus. No session switching required.

/COST shows token usage for the current session. Useful when you want to see how much context you're actually burning through.

/USAGE pulls up your plan's limits and current rate-limit status. Know exactly where you stand before you hit the wall.

/EXTRA-USAGE flips on additional usage once you've maxed your plan. For when you're mid-ship and can't afford to stop.

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Project Setup and Memory

/INIT creates a CLAUDE.md file in your project. First thing you should do in any new repo. Gives Claude persistent context about your codebase across every future session.

/MEMORY edits CLAUDE.md files and tunes auto-memory settings. This is where Claude stores what it learns about your project. Manage it right and the assistant stops forgetting things between sessions. That's the difference between a helpful tool and one that actually understands your work.

/ADD-DIR <path> adds a directory to the current session. Working across multiple folders? Give Claude access to all of them at once.

Code Review and Security

/DIFF opens a diff view of uncommitted changes and per-turn diffs. You see exactly what Claude touched, line by line, before you commit anything.

/SECURITY-REVIEW scans pending changes for security issues. Running this before every commit is a habit worth building. Catches things you miss in a fast iteration cycle.

/PLAN [description] enters plan mode. Claude maps the approach first instead of jumping into code. This is the move for multi-step, complex tasks. Plan first, code second. I started using this last month and it cut my "undo everything and start over" moments by half.

Permissions, Plugins, Configuration

/PERMISSIONS controls allow, ask, and deny rules for tool access. Want Claude to read files but not write them? Configure it here.

/AGENTS manages agent and sub-agent configs. Running multi-agent workflows? This is the command center.

/SKILLS lists every skill available, built-in and custom. Skills are specialized capabilities you bolt on. This command shows you what's on the shelf.

/PLUGIN manages Claude Code plugins for extending core functionality.

/RELOAD-PLUGINS reloads active plugins without restarting the session. Tweak a plugin, reload it live, keep working.

/MCP handles MCP server connections and OAuth authentication. MCP is the protocol that lets Claude Code talk to external tools and services. This is the control panel for those connections.

Look and Feel

/CONFIG opens settings for theme, model, output style, and preferences. One stop for customizing how Claude Code behaves.

/THEME switches color themes. Light, dark, accessible options. Working at night? Dark. Need higher contrast? Accessible themes have you covered.

/COLOR [color] sets the prompt bar color for the current session. Sounds silly. It's not. Running five sessions at once? Color-code them. You'll never mix them up again.

The move

You don't need to memorize all 26. You need to know they exist so you can reach for the right one when it matters.

My shortlist after testing: /CLEAR, /COMPACT, /PLAN, /DIFF, /SECURITY-REVIEW, /MODEL. Those six cover 90% of my daily flow.

Pick five that match what you actually do every day. Try one you haven't touched on your next Claude Code session. You'll notice the difference inside ten minutes.

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