Slash commands you already have
You’ve already used a couple of these without thinking about it — /clear to start fresh, /memory to see what Claude remembers. Those are slash commands, and there’s a whole shelf of them you haven’t opened yet.
A slash command is a shortcut: type a word starting with
/and Claude does a specific thing instead of treating it as something to chat about.
Type /clear and you don’t get a reply about clearing — the conversation actually clears. That’s the difference between a command and a normal message.
The ones worth knowing
You don’t need to memorize these. You need to know they exist, so you reach for them instead of doing things the hard way.
/help— lists every command available. Your map. When you forget the rest of this list, this is the one to remember./clear— wipes the current conversation and starts clean. Use it when you switch to an unrelated task so old context doesn’t muddy the new one./model— switch which Claude model you’re talking to. Heavier model for hard problems, lighter one for quick stuff./config— open settings you can flip from a menu: theme, and other preferences, without editing any files./memory— view and edit what Claude remembers (you met this last lesson)./agents— manage subagents, which you’ll meet properly in the next level. File this one away for now.
How to actually use them
Type the slash at the start of your message. Claude Code pops up a little menu the moment you type /, so you can see what’s available and arrow down to the one you want. You don’t have to type the whole thing.
A few take extra input after them — you’ll see that next lesson when you build your own. But most are one word: type it, hit enter, done.
Why bother learning these
Because the alternative is doing things the slow way. People who don’t know /clear exists will start a new task in a conversation stuffed with twenty unrelated messages, and wonder why Claude keeps bringing up the old thing. People who don’t know /model exists will use one model for everything.
The commands aren’t the point. Knowing the shelf exists is the point — so when something feels harder than it should, you check
/helpfirst.
What’s next
Those commands came built in. But the best part is that you can make your own — bottle up a prompt you type all the time and give it a name. That’s next, and it’s simpler than you’d guess.