[DOCS] `/clear` docs omit naming the cleared session for `/resume`

Open 💬 2 comments Opened May 8, 2026 by coygeek

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Incorrect/outdated documentation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 /compact instead. 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 with claude --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 /clear to start fresh when switching to unrelated work. Stale context wastes tokens on every subsequent message. Use /rename before clearing so you can easily find the session later, then /resume to 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That leaves the session workflow outdated relative to v2.1.136: readers are told only to rename first, not that named clear is available.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:

  1. Update the /clear command reference to show the optional <name> argument if that is the supported syntax in v2.1.136.
  2. Explain that /clear <name> starts a fresh conversation and labels the cleared session so it can be found later with /resume.
  3. Update the session and cost-management guidance so it no longer implies /rename is 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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