Slash Commands
Slash commands are operator-level shortcuts you type directly in the TUI input bar. They are not model-tool calls and are not gated by the permission rule grammar — they run as your direct action.
How the slash system works
Type / in the input bar to open the suggestion menu. A fuzzy typeahead list appears showing all registered commands grouped by category.
The slash-menu fuzzy typeahead is marked 🟡 (partial) in the parity matrix. Basic prefix matching works; full fuzzy ranking and category grouping are in progress.
Continue typing to narrow the list, then press Enter (or Tab) to select a command. Some commands run immediately (immediate: true) and return to the input bar; others open an overlay or emit output to the transcript.
Hooks fire on every slash submission: UserPromptSubmit carries is_slash: true, command, and args, so hooks can audit or veto any slash command.
Plugin-supplied commands
Plugins can register additional slash commands through the same SlashCommandRegistry. Built-in commands take priority; a plugin command with a conflicting name is dropped with a warning at registration time. See Plugins for details.
Common commands
The table below lists the most frequently used built-in commands. The full list — including commands added by plugins — is enumerated at runtime by /help inside the TUI.
| Command | Args | What it does |
|---|---|---|
/help | — | Open the help overlay listing all visible commands |
/clear | — | Clear transcript and conversation history; keep todos and system prompt |
/quit | — | Exit caliban (/exit is an alias) |
/resume | [query] | List persisted sessions (optional name substring filter) |
/init | [--force] | Generate CLAUDE.draft.md from AGENTS.md / .cursorrules / git status |
/model | [id] | Show or switch the active model (same-provider swap in v1) |
/effort | <level> | Set reasoning effort: low, medium, high, max, or auto |
/usage | — | Show token usage and cumulative cost for this session |
/cost | — | Show cumulative USD spend with per-model breakdown |
/context | — | Show context-window utilization + top-N largest blocks |
/compact | — | Trigger the configured compactor to summarize history |
/config | — | Open the configuration overlay (merged settings + scope chain) |
/mcp | — | Open the MCP server status overlay |
/hooks | — | List configured hooks per event |
/plugins | — | List installed plugins with enable/disable status |
/permissions | — | Open the permissions overlay; cycle mode with Tab, delete rule with d |
/rewind | — | Open the checkpoint picker (also: Esc Esc on empty input) |
/recap | — | Summarize the conversation without mutating history |
/btw | <question> | One-shot ephemeral side query to a fast model; result inlined |
/export | [path] [--format json] | Export session transcript to markdown (or JSON) |
/doctor | [--deep] | Run health checks: settings, MCP, skills, hooks, provider auth |
/status | — | Show provider and auth status |
/statusline | — | Inspect the active custom status-line configuration |
/loop | [--n=N] [--interval=S] | Plan repeated turns (execution bounded by --max-turns) |
The complete, up-to-date slash command index — including plugin-supplied commands and hidden aliases — lives in Slash Command Index. The index is generated from the live registry so it always reflects what is actually registered in your build.
Adding your own slash commands
Custom slash commands are defined as skills or plugins. See Custom Slash Commands for the authoring guide.