[DOCS] `/clear` docs omit naming the cleared session for `/resume`
Documentation Type
Incorrect/outdated documentation
Documentation Location
https://code.claude.com/docs/en/commands
Section/Topic
The /clear command reference and the related session-naming workflow for /resume
Current Documentation
The docs currently say:
/clear| Start a new conversation with empty context. The previous conversation stays available in/resume. To free up context while continuing the same conversation, use/compactinstead. Aliases:/reset,/new
The sessions guide currently says:
* /clear: start fresh with an empty context. The previous conversation is saved and resumable
Once a session is named, return to it withclaude --resume <name>or/resume <name>.
The costs guide currently tells users to name the session in a separate step before clearing:
* Clear between tasks: Use/clearto start fresh when switching to unrelated work. Stale context wastes tokens on every subsequent message. Use/renamebefore clearing so you can easily find the session later, then/resumeto return to it.
What's Wrong or Missing?
As of v2.1.136, the release notes indicate that Claude Code supports labeling the cleared session via /clear <name> for later /resume, but the current docs still describe only the older workflow.
A. The /clear command docs omit the named-clear syntax
commands documents /clear as argument-less, with no mention that a name can be supplied to label the session being cleared.
B. The session-management docs still describe naming and clearing as two separate steps
sessions and costs explain /rename plus /resume <name>, but they never mention that /clear <name> can label the just-cleared session directly for later lookup in /resume.
That leaves the session workflow outdated relative to v2.1.136: readers are told only to rename first, not that named clear is available.
Suggested Improvement
Update the session-management docs to document the named-clear workflow consistently.
Minimum fix:
- Update the
/clearcommand reference to show the optional<name>argument if that is the supported syntax in v2.1.136. - Explain that
/clear <name>starts a fresh conversation and labels the cleared session so it can be found later with/resume. - Update the session and cost-management guidance so it no longer implies
/renameis the only way to make a cleared session easy to resume by name.
Impact
Medium - Makes feature difficult to understand
Additional Context
Affected Pages:
| Page | Line(s) | Context |
|------|---------|---------|
| https://code.claude.com/docs/en/commands | 31 | /clear is documented without any naming argument, while the same row already explains the cleared conversation remains available in /resume |
| https://code.claude.com/docs/en/sessions | 46-57, 104-105 | The page explains naming with /rename and resuming by name, plus /clear as a separate step, but does not document /clear <name> |
| https://code.claude.com/docs/en/costs | 87 | Cost guidance tells users to /rename before clearing so the session can be resumed later, with no mention of named clear |
Total scope: 3 pages affected
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