Sessions and Context

Kimi Code CLI automatically saves your conversation history, allowing you to continue previous work at any time.

Session resuming

Each time you start Kimi Code CLI, a new session is created. If you want to continue a previous conversation, there are several ways:

Continue the most recent session

Use the --continue flag to continue the most recent session in the current working directory:

kimi --continue

Switch to a specific session

Use the --session flag to switch to a session with a specific ID:

kimi --session abc123

Switch sessions during runtime

Enter /sessions (or /resume) to view all sessions in the current working directory, and use arrow keys to select the session you want to switch to:

/sessions

The list shows each session's title and last update time, helping you find the conversation you want to continue.

Startup replay

When you continue an existing session, Kimi Code CLI will replay the previous conversation history so you can quickly understand the context. During replay, previous messages and AI responses will be displayed.

Session state persistence

In addition to conversation history, Kimi Code CLI also automatically saves and restores the session's runtime state. When you resume a session, the following states are automatically restored:

• Approval decisions: YOLO mode on/off status, operation types approved via "allow for this session"
• Dynamic subagents: Subagent definitions created via the CreateSubagent tool during the session

This means you don't need to reconfigure these settings each time you resume a session. For example, if you approved auto-execution of certain shell commands in your previous session, those approvals remain in effect after resuming.

Clear and compact

As the conversation progresses, the context grows longer. Kimi Code CLI will automatically compress the context when needed to ensure the conversation can continue.

You can also manually manage the context using slash commands:

Clear context

Enter /clear to clear all context in the current session and start a fresh conversation:

/clear

After clearing, the AI will forget all previous conversation content. You usually don't need to use this command; for new tasks, starting a new session is a better choice.

Compact context

Enter /compact to have the AI summarize the current conversation and replace the original context with the summary:

/compact

Compacting preserves key information while reducing token consumption. This is useful when the conversation is long but you still want to retain some context.

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The bottom status bar displays the current context usage (context: xx%), helping you understand when you need to clear or compact.

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/clear and /reset clear the conversation context but do not reset session state (such as approval decisions and dynamic subagents). To start completely fresh, it's recommended to create a new session.