Claude Code /focus — Strip the Screen Down to the Essentials

During a long task, the screen fills up with intermediate steps, making it hard to find "what did I ask, and what was the conclusion?" /focus is the command that strips away the clutter and shows only the essentials. It tidies up a messy screen to help you concentrate.

Definition (What It Is)

/focus is a command that simplifies the screen to show only your question, the summary, and the final answer. It is displayed in full screen (a layout that fills the entire screen).

It hides the small steps that pass by in between and leaves only the core flow, making even long tasks easy to follow at a glance.

How to Use It (By Difficulty)

Basic — Turning On Focus View

/focus

Typing this switches to a screen that shows only the essentials. It works as a toggle (like a switch that alternates between on and off), so typing it again returns you to the original screen.

Common Pitfalls (Only When Relevant)

• Because it shows only the essentials, the intermediate steps are hidden from the screen. In debugging situations where you need to examine the process in detail, it is better to turn it off again with /focus and see everything.

Real-World Example

When a long, multi-step task keeps going and the screen gets complicated, turning on /focus leaves only your question and conclusion neatly, so you don't lose the flow. It is especially handy when wrapping up and organizing your work.

Taking It Further

Seeing only the essentials keeps even long tasks from feeling cluttered. If you want to keep a record of the conversation after tidying the screen, use it together with /export (export the conversation), and you can save exactly what you saw cleanly to a file.

Summary

/focus is a toggle command that simplifies the screen to leave only your question, summary, and final answer. Turn it on to concentrate when things get long and complex, and turn it off again when you need a detailed view.

Based on: Claude Code v2.1.154 (2026.05)