/clear wipes the entire conversation history and resets context to zero — without restarting the Claude Code process or losing your shell session.
When a Fresh Session Saves Time and Tokens
Use it when switching between unrelated tasks, or when the context has drifted and Claude starts giving confused answers.
Why This Beats Quitting and Reopening
It’s faster than quitting and reopening, and cheaper than letting a contaminated context keep running.