Manage sessions

Name, resume, branch, and switch between Claude Code conversations. Covers --continue, --resume, --from-pr, the /resume picker, session naming, exporting transcripts, and where transcripts are stored.

A session is a saved conversation tied to a project directory. Claude Code stores it locally as you work, so you can resume where you left off, branch to try a different approach, or switch between tasks.

The desktop app, Claude Code on the web, and the VS Code extension each maintain their own session history. This page covers the CLI.

Resume a session

Sessions are saved continuously to local transcript files as you work, so you can return to one after exiting or running /clear. Use these entry points:

Command	What it does
claude --continue	Reopens the most recent conversation in the current directory
claude --resume	Opens the session picker
claude --resume <name>	Resumes the named session directly