[BUG] /clear resets history but not context — misleading "fresh start" with no real workaround

The bug

After updating memory files mid-session, I ran \/clear\ expecting a clean slate. Context usage stayed at 13%. I then closed and reopened the app — it dropped to 4%.

\/clear\ does not reload context from disk. The model keeps seeing a stale world.

Why this hurts power users the most

Claude Code is designed for staged, long-running work. You finish a stage, update memory, refine CLAUDE.md — and then you want to continue with fresh context. This is the intended workflow. And it's exactly where \/clear\ silently fails.

The cruel irony: the better you use Claude Code, the more \/clear\ misleads you. Users who invest in memory and CLAUDE.md maintenance are the ones who get burned.

There is no workaround

• \/clear\ — clears history, context stays stale ❌
• Close and reopen — context reloads ✅ but creates a throwaway sidebar entry, polluting session history ❌

No clean escape hatch exists.

Proposed: /new command

Reload context from disk. Keep the same session entry, same name, same hash. No sidebar pollution. For staged projects this isn't a "new session" — it's just the next stage of the same work.

\/clear\ = amnesia without awakening. \/new\ = wake up, look around, continue.