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Claude Code persists every conversation as a JSONL transcript on disk. This gives you a complete, searchable history of your work and lets you resume, branch, export, or transfer sessions at any time.

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Session storage

Sessions are stored in ~/.claude/sessions/ as JSONL files. Each line in the file is a serialized message — assistant turns, user turns, tool calls, file snapshots, and metadata are all recorded in order. 
~/.claude/sessions/
├── <session-id-1>.jsonl
├── <session-id-2>.jsonl
└── ...

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Resuming a session

To pick up where you left off, use the --resume flag when starting Claude Code, or run /resume inside an active session to switch to a previous one. 
claude --resume
Claude displays a list of recent sessions ordered by last activity. Select one to restore the full conversation history and continue from that point.

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Listing sessions

The /session command shows your recent sessions with their titles, timestamps, and working directories. Use it to find and switch between sessions without leaving the terminal. 
/session

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Searching sessions

Claude Code can search your session history by title, content, and metadata. This is useful when you remember working on something but can’t recall which session it was in. 
/session search <query>

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Branching sessions

Fork any session at its current point with /branch. The original session is preserved unchanged; the new branch starts as an identical copy and diverges from that point forward. 
/branch
Branching is useful when you want to explore an alternative approach without losing your current state.

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Background sessions

You can run multiple Claude Code sessions concurrently. Each session operates independently with its own conversation history, tool permissions, and working directory. Use /session to switch between active background sessions.

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File history and undo/redo

Claude Code takes file snapshots before each destructive edit. These snapshots are stored as FileHistorySnapshotMessage entries in the session JSONL. If a change produces an unexpected result, you can undo it without leaving Claude Code. 
/undo

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Session teleportation

The /teleport command transfers a session from one machine to another using a Git-based serialization mechanism (utils/teleport.tsx).
1

Initiate teleport

Run /teleport on the source machine. Claude Code serializes the session state and uploads it using your claude.ai OAuth credentials.
2

Create a Git bundle

Claude packages the relevant Git branch state into a bundle alongside the conversation transcript.
3

Resume on the target machine

On the destination machine, run claude --resume and select the teleported session. Claude checks out the correct branch and restores the conversation.
Teleportation requires an active claude.ai OAuth session on both machines. The feature uses checkGate to verify access before proceeding.

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Session titles

Claude Code automatically generates a title for each session based on the opening messages. To rename a session manually: 
/rename <new title>

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Exporting sessions

Export the current session transcript to a file with /export. The output is a human-readable version of the conversation, suitable for sharing or archiving. 
/export

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Cost tracking

The /cost command displays token usage and estimated USD spend for the current session, broken down by model and token type (input, output, cache read, cache creation). 
/cost
Cost data is persisted in the session JSONL and restored when you resume a session, so totals accumulate correctly across multiple sittings.

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