[DOCS] Ctrl+L keyboard shortcut docs still say it clears prompt input
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Incorrect/outdated documentation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 blankThe 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:
PressCtrl+Ltwice within two seconds to run/clearand 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.
3 Comments
Found 1 possible duplicate issue:
This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.
🤖 Generated with Claude Code
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+Las 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+Lrow still says it clears prompt inputStatus: RESOLVED
At https://code.claude.com/docs/en/interactive-mode, line 31:
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+Ltochat:clearInputwith old descriptionStatus: RESOLVED
At https://code.claude.com/docs/en/keybindings, line 105:
The action name
chat:clearInputremains, 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+Lpress clears the input boxStatus: RESOLVED
At https://code.claude.com/docs/en/fullscreen, line 121:
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:
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+Lrow says it clears prompt input | RESOLVED — docs updated to "Redraw screen" with "Input and conversation history are kept" || keybindings.md maps
Ctrl+Ltochat:clearInputwith old description | RESOLVED — description now says "preserving input" || fullscreen.md says first
Ctrl+Lpress 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+Lis correctly documented as a screen redraw that preserves input.---
References
Ctrl+Lrow correctly describes redraw behavior with input preservedchat:clearInputcorrectly described as "preserving input"---
Conclusion & Recommendation
Primary Concern: Documentation was outdated relative to v2.1.126
Ctrl+Lbehavior 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+Lforces 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.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.