Command reference · Claude Code

/recap

Generates a one-line summary of the current session on demand.

The /recap command generates an on-demand one-line summary of the current session. It complements the automatic recap feature that Claude Code shows by default when you return to the session after at least three minutes away with an unfocused terminal — provided the session already has at least three conversation turns and the last recap wasn't immediately before. The automatic version runs in the background, so the summary is already ready by the time you switch back; it can be disabled via /config (the "Session recap" option) or forcibly disabled with CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_AWAY_SUMMARY=0, for instance when telemetry is disabled entirely. In non-interactive sessions, no recap ever appears, neither automatic nor manual. After a /compact, Claude Code also no longer generates an introductory recap before continuing. /recap itself only provides this one line, not the full conversation history — that's what /export is for, which saves the entire conversation as text.