--resume Option - Qwen Code

Overview

The --resume (or -r) option allows you to resume a previous Qwen Code session, continuing where you left off with full conversation history intact. This is useful for long-running projects, multi-day tasks, or picking up interrupted work.

Syntax

qwen --resume <session-id>
qwen -r <session-id>
qwen --resume  # Opens session picker

Basic Usage

Resume Specific Session

qwen --resume a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890

This restores:

Full conversation history
Context and token usage
Session statistics
Model selection
Configuration settings

Interactive Session Picker

Without a session ID, open the picker:

qwen --resume

Displays:

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Select Session to Resume
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  2h ago  › Building REST API with authentication
          a1b2c3d4-e5f6... | 45 messages | 12.5K tokens
          
  1d ago  › Refactoring database layer
          f1e2d3c4-b5a6... | 23 messages | 8.2K tokens
          
  3d ago  › Adding unit tests
          c1d2e3f4-a5b6... | 31 messages | 15.1K tokens

Use ↑↓ to navigate, Enter to select, Esc to cancel
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Continue Most Recent Session

Use --continue for the latest session:

qwen --continue
qwen -c  # Short form

Session Storage

Where Sessions Are Saved

Sessions are stored in:

~/.qwen/sessions/
  ├── <project-hash>/
      ├── session-id-1.json
      ├── session-id-2.json
      └── ...

Each project (by directory path) has its own session storage.

Session Data

Each session stores:

Conversation history (messages)
Model configuration
Token usage statistics
Tool call history
Session metadata (start time, duration)
Project context

Session File Format

{
  "sessionId": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890",
  "projectRoot": "/home/user/project",
  "startTime": "2024-03-10T14:30:00Z",
  "model": "qwen-coder-plus",
  "messages": [
    {
      "role": "user",
      "content": "Help me build a REST API",
      "timestamp": "2024-03-10T14:30:15Z"
    },
    {
      "role": "assistant",
      "content": "I'll help you build a REST API...",
      "timestamp": "2024-03-10T14:30:20Z"
    }
  ],
  "usage": {
    "inputTokens": 1234,
    "outputTokens": 567,
    "totalTokens": 1801
  }
}

Use Cases

Multi-Day Projects

# Day 1
qwen --prompt "Start building the user management system"
# Session ID: abc123

# Day 2
qwen --resume abc123 --prompt "Continue with the authentication"

# Day 3  
qwen --resume abc123 --prompt "Now add authorization"

Interrupted Work

# Working on a task
qwen
> Implementing payment processing
# Interrupted by meeting

# Later, resume
qwen --continue
> Continue implementing payment processing

Context Preservation

# Build context over multiple sessions
qwen --session-id feature-auth
> Setup authentication

# Later, with full context
qwen --resume feature-auth
> Add OAuth support
# AI remembers previous authentication work

Project Continuity

# Project A
cd ~/projects/webapp
qwen
# Work on webapp

# Project B
cd ~/projects/api
qwen  
# Work on API

# Return to Project A with context
cd ~/projects/webapp
qwen --continue
# Resumes webapp session automatically

Finding Session IDs

View in Current Session

qwen
> /stats

Session ID: a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890

List All Sessions

# List session files
ls -lh ~/.qwen/sessions/<project-hash>/

# View session metadata
cat ~/.qwen/sessions/<project-hash>/session-id.json | jq '.sessionId'

Session Naming

Use custom session IDs:

qwen --session-id feature-auth
# Later resume by name
qwen --resume feature-auth

Resume with Options

Resume with Different Model

# Session was using qwen-turbo
qwen --resume abc123 --model qwen-coder-plus
# Continues with new model

Resume in YOLO Mode

qwen --resume abc123 --yolo
# Continue with auto-approval

Resume with Prompt

qwen --resume abc123 --prompt "Now implement feature X"
# Resumes and immediately executes prompt

Resume in Headless Mode

qwen --resume abc123 --prompt "Status update" --output-format json
# Non-interactive resume

Session Management

Delete Old Sessions

# Delete sessions older than 30 days
find ~/.qwen/sessions -name '*.json' -mtime +30 -delete

Export Session

# Export session for backup or sharing
cp ~/.qwen/sessions/<project-hash>/session-id.json \
   ./my-session-backup.json

Import Session

# Import session from backup
cp ./my-session-backup.json \
   ~/.qwen/sessions/<project-hash>/session-id.json

qwen --resume session-id

Clear Session History

# Remove all sessions for current project
rm -rf ~/.qwen/sessions/<project-hash>/

# Remove all sessions
rm -rf ~/.qwen/sessions/

Best Practices

Use Named Sessions

Create meaningful session IDs:

# Instead of:
qwen
# Random session ID

# Use:
qwen --session-id feature-user-auth
# Easy to identify and resume

Resume Recent Sessions

For continuity, resume recent work:

# At start of day
qwen --continue

Session Per Feature

Organize by feature or task:

qwen --session-id fix-bug-123
qwen --session-id feature-notifications
qwen --session-id refactor-auth

Clean Up Periodically

Remove old sessions:

# Monthly cleanup
find ~/.qwen/sessions -name '*.json' -mtime +30 -delete

Session Limitations

Context Window

Resumed sessions still have token limits:

qwen --resume abc123
> /stats
Context: 180,000 / 262,144 (68.7%)

# Compress if needed
> /compress

File Changes

Sessions don’t track external file changes:

# Day 1: AI edits file.ts
qwen --session-id task

# Day 2: Someone else edits file.ts

# Resume: AI doesn't know about external changes
qwen --resume task
> Continue editing file.ts
# AI works from its last known state

Model Availability

Resumed sessions might use different model if original unavailable:

# Session used gpt-4
qwen --resume abc123
# Falls back to qwen-coder-plus if GPT-4 not configured

Troubleshooting

Session Not Found

Error: Session 'abc123' not found

Solutions:

Check session ID:
```
ls ~/.qwen/sessions/<project-hash>/
```
Use session picker:
```
qwen --resume  # Opens picker
```

Verify project directory:

# Sessions are project-specific
cd correct-project-directory
qwen --resume abc123

No Sessions Available

No previous sessions found

Causes:

No sessions created yet
Chat recording disabled
Sessions deleted or expired

Solution:

# Enable chat recording
qwen --chat-recording=true

# Or in settings.json
{
  "session": {
    "chatRecording": true
  }
}

Corrupted Session

Error: Failed to load session

Solution:

# Validate session file
cat ~/.qwen/sessions/<project-hash>/session-id.json | jq .

# If corrupted, delete and start fresh
rm ~/.qwen/sessions/<project-hash>/session-id.json
qwen

Advanced Usage

Session Migration

#!/bin/bash
# Migrate sessions to new machine

# On old machine
tar -czf qwen-sessions.tar.gz ~/.qwen/sessions/

# Transfer to new machine
scp qwen-sessions.tar.gz newmachine:

# On new machine
tar -xzf qwen-sessions.tar.gz -C ~/
qwen --resume

Session Analytics

#!/bin/bash
# Analyze session usage

find ~/.qwen/sessions -name '*.json' -exec jq -r '
  "\(.sessionId) | \(.messages | length) messages | \(.usage.totalTokens) tokens"
' {} \;

Automated Resume

#!/bin/bash
# Auto-resume last session on project entry

cd ~/my-project

if qwen --continue &> /dev/null; then
  echo "Resumed previous session"
else
  qwen
fi

--continue Option

Quick resume of most recent session

--session-id Option

Create custom session identifiers

Session Management

Complete guide to sessions

Context Management

Managing conversation context

Commands

Options

​Overview

​Syntax

​Basic Usage

​Resume Specific Session

​Interactive Session Picker

​Continue Most Recent Session

​Session Storage

​Where Sessions Are Saved

​Session Data

​Session File Format

​Use Cases

​Multi-Day Projects

​Interrupted Work

​Context Preservation

​Project Continuity

​Finding Session IDs

​View in Current Session

​List All Sessions

​Session Naming

​Resume with Options

​Resume with Different Model

​Resume in YOLO Mode

​Resume with Prompt

​Resume in Headless Mode

​Session Management

​Delete Old Sessions

​Export Session

​Import Session

​Clear Session History

​Best Practices

​Session Limitations

​Context Window

​File Changes

​Model Availability

​Troubleshooting

​Session Not Found

​No Sessions Available

​Corrupted Session

​Advanced Usage

​Session Migration

​Session Analytics

​Automated Resume

​See Also

--continue Option

--session-id Option

Session Management

Context Management

Overview

Syntax

Basic Usage

Resume Specific Session

Interactive Session Picker

Continue Most Recent Session

Session Storage

Where Sessions Are Saved

Session Data

Session File Format

Use Cases

Multi-Day Projects

Interrupted Work

Context Preservation

Project Continuity

Finding Session IDs

View in Current Session

List All Sessions

Session Naming

Resume with Options

Resume with Different Model

Resume in YOLO Mode

Resume with Prompt

Resume in Headless Mode

Session Management

Delete Old Sessions

Export Session

Import Session

Clear Session History

Best Practices

Session Limitations

Context Window

File Changes

Model Availability

Troubleshooting

Session Not Found

No Sessions Available

Corrupted Session

Advanced Usage

Session Migration

Session Analytics

Automated Resume

See Also