Where Did Yesterday's Work Go? Pick Up Old Conversations As-Is with /resume

Have you ever worked a while yesterday, turned off the computer, then turned it back on today only to find that conversation gone? Only a blank new chat window sits there, and you end up explaining from scratch, wondering "how far did I get?" No need for that. There is /resume. You can reload an old conversation as-is and continue from where it left off. (The alias /continue uses the same feature.)

Definition

/resume is a command that picks an old conversation by name or from a list and continues it. Claude Code automatically archives the conversations you have had, and /resume is the button that opens that archive and pulls out the conversation you want.

Rather than starting fresh, it continues with the context exactly as it was at the point it left off. It comes back remembering everything, the conversation you had yesterday and even the files you were working on.

How to Use (by difficulty)

Basics — Picking from a List

Type just this into the chat box.

/resume

Once you enter it, a list of the conversations you have had appears on screen. Pick the conversation you want with the arrow keys and press Enter, and that conversation revives right from where it left off. If you are unsure which conversation it was, choose by looking at the summaries in the list.

Advanced — Calling It Directly by Name

/resume 블로그작업

If you have given a conversation a name, you can reload it directly by writing that name after /resume. It is handy when you have many conversations and finding it in the list is tedious. (The name has to be set in advance. See the next item.)

Deeper — Continuing Background Sessions Too

/resume → 목록에서 bg 표시 항목 선택

Work that was running separately in the background (a background session) also appears in the list with a bg marker. You can pick that to check its progress or continue it.

Using It Further

• Both name and list: If you know the name, /resume name goes straight there; if not, /resume lets you pick from the list.
• Label in advance: Give a conversation a name with /rename, and later you find it in one step with /resume name. Without a name, you have to dig through the list one by one.
• Background work too: Distinguish background sessions by the bg marker in the list and continue them.
• Paired with clear: Even a conversation cleared with /clear is not gone but archived, so you can always recover it with /resume.

Tip: Splitting work by topic and naming it is much more convenient. Like "blog work," "payment feature," "bug fix." Then you can pick out just the work you need, like /resume payment feature, so you do not get confused moving between projects.

Summary

The core fits in one sentence. Do not start yesterday's work fresh; continue it with /resume. Past conversations are not gone but archived, so you can revive them right from where they left off. Labeling them in advance with /rename lets you find them in one step with /resume name, so the more work piles up, the more you should attach labels.

Based on: Claude Code v2.1.154 (2026.05)