> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.open4rena.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Sessions > Resume, fork, rename, export, and delete saved conversations. o4 saves every interactive conversation as a session, so you can close the terminal and pick up where you left off later. This page covers how to resume a session, branch it with a fork, rename it, export or copy the transcript, and delete sessions you no longer need. ## Resume a session When you quit o4, it prints a summary with the command that resumes the session: ```text theme={null} o4 session ended Title: Fix the flaky login test Session: 3f2b9c1e-8a4d-4c2e-9f1a-7b6d5e4c3a21 Model: anthropic:claude-sonnet-4-6 Runtime: 12m 4s Usage: 48210 input / 6120 output tokens, cache 102400 read / 8800 write, $0.4213 Resume: o4 resume 3f2b9c1e-8a4d-4c2e-9f1a-7b6d5e4c3a21 ``` The `Title:` line appears only once the session has a title. There are three ways to resume: | Command | What it does | | - | - | | `o4 resume` | Opens the session picker. | | `o4 resume ` | Resumes that session directly. | | `/resume` | Opens the same picker from inside o4. `/resume ` switches to that session. | When you resume, the transcript comes back, the model continues with the full conversation, and you can go on typing. `/resume ` ends the current session first, the same way quitting does (it stays saved), then restarts o4 on the other session. `o4 resume ` with an ID that doesn't exist fails with `Error: Session '' not found`. A resumed session runs on the model you'd get when starting o4 now: the one you pass with `-m`, or your default model. It doesn't switch back to the model the session last used; with the [model router](/models/router) set up, the router can pick it. To pick a model, pass it when you resume, for example `o4 -m anthropic:claude-sonnet-4-6 resume `, or use `Resume with model…` in the picker. o4 has no flag that resumes the most recent session. Run `o4 resume` in the project instead: the picker lists that project's sessions with the most recently updated at the top, after any pinned ones. If you run `o4 resume` with no terminal attached, for example in a script, it prints the session list from every directory instead of opening the picker. ## The session picker The picker shows one card per session with its title, model and directory. It opens with only the sessions from the current checkout: your git repository and its linked worktrees, or just the current directory outside git. Press `Tab` to see sessions from every directory. Pinned sessions come first, then the most recently updated. | Key | Action | | - | - | | `Enter` | Resume the selected session. | | `Up` / `Down`, `PageUp` / `PageDown` | Move through the list. | | Any text | Filter the list by title, preview, session ID, model or directory. `Backspace` deletes a character and `Ctrl+U` clears the filter. | | `Tab` | Switch between sessions from this checkout and sessions from every directory. | | `Ctrl+S` | Sort by last update or by creation time. | | `A` | Open the actions menu for the selected session. | | `R` | Rename the selected session. | | `P` | Pin or unpin the selected session. Pinned sessions stay at the top. | | `Esc` | Close the picker. | The actions menu offers `Resume`, `Resume with model…`, `Fork`, `Rename`, `Pin/Unpin` and `Delete…`. Use `Resume with model…` to continue a session on a different model. `Delete…` asks you to confirm with `y`. While the model is working, `/sessions` still opens the picker, and renaming and pinning work, but resuming, forking and deleting a session are refused until the turn finishes. For a resume or a fork, o4 shows `Wait for the current turn to finish before resuming, forking or rewinding.` For a delete, it closes the picker and shows `Wait for the current turn to finish before making this change.` `/resume` typed during a turn waits until the turn finishes. Because typed letters go into the filter, the lowercase `a`, `r` and `p` filter the list. The shortcuts are uppercase. ### Resuming in a different directory A session remembers the directory it started in. If you resume it from somewhere else, o4 asks where to run it: * the session's directory * the current directory * always use the session's directory * always use the current directory The two "always" choices save your answer in `~/.o4/config.toml`, and o4 stops asking: ```toml theme={null} [resume] cwd = "session" ``` Set `cwd = "current"` to always stay where you are. Delete the `[resume]` section to be asked again. If the session's directory no longer exists, o4 offers only the current directory. ## Where sessions are stored Sessions are stored under `~/.o4`, for every project: | Path | Contents | | - | - | | `~/.o4/sessions//journal.jsonl` | The full record of one session. o4 rebuilds a session from this file when you resume it. | | `~/.o4/sessions.db` | An index of all sessions, with titles, models, directories and pins. The picker and `o4 sessions list` read it. | o4 names a new session after your first prompt: its first line, up to 60 characters. Use `/rename` to change the name. Runs in [print mode](/guides/print-mode) (`o4 -p "..."`) aren't saved as sessions. ## List and delete sessions from the shell `o4 sessions list` prints the sessions from the current checkout: ```bash theme={null} o4 sessions list ``` ```text theme={null} ID Model Title Directory Updated --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3f2b9c1e-8a4d-4c2e-9f1a-7b6d5e4c3a21 anthropic:claude-... Fix the flaky login test ~/code/api 2026-09-24 14:02:11 ``` Each column is cut to fit, and long directories keep their end, such as `…/code/api`. The `Updated` time is in UTC. If the current checkout has no sessions but other directories do, o4 says how many exist elsewhere and suggests `--all`. Add `--all` to include sessions from every directory. Sessions saved by older o4 versions that didn't record a directory only appear with `--all`. To delete a session, pass its ID: ```bash theme={null} o4 sessions delete 3f2b9c1e-8a4d-4c2e-9f1a-7b6d5e4c3a21 ``` You can also delete from the picker with `A`, then `Delete…`. Deleting a session removes it from the index, so it no longer appears in lists or the picker. The session's folder under `~/.o4/sessions/` stays on disk, and `o4 sessions delete` reports success even when the ID doesn't exist. To remove the transcript completely, also delete `~/.o4/sessions/`. o4 doesn't delete old sessions on its own. Sessions stay until you delete them. ## Fork a session A fork is a copy of the conversation up to now that you can take in another direction. The original session is left as it is. ```text theme={null} /fork try-sqlite ``` `/fork ` creates the fork, named ``, and opens it in a new tab next to the current one, so you can switch between the two (see [Session tabs](/guides/interface#session-tabs)). The fork also appears in the session picker. Each fork of a session needs its own name: reusing one fails with `Fork failed: a fork named '' already exists`. If you type `/fork` while the agent is working, it waits until the turn finishes. You can't fork while background tasks are running (`Finish or stop background tasks before forking`). `/fork` with no name opens the **Forks** switcher. It lists the session with its forks nested under it, with each one's message count. The first row, `＋ new fork from here`, creates a fork with the next free name, such as `fork-1`. Press `Enter` on another session to switch to it, which works like `/resume `. In the session picker, `A` then `Fork` copies the whole selected session. From `o4 resume`, o4 then resumes the copy. From `/resume`, the copy is added to the list and you stay where you are. To branch from an earlier turn instead of the latest one, use the Time Machine. See [Undo and rewind](/guides/checkpoints). ## Rename a session ```text theme={null} /rename Migrate auth to OAuth ``` `/rename` with no title puts `/rename` and the current title in the prompt box, so you can edit the title and press `Enter`. You can also press `R` in the session picker. ## Export and copy the transcript | Command | What it does | | - | - | | `/export ` | Writes the whole conversation to a Markdown file. | | `/export clipboard` | Copies the same Markdown to the clipboard. | | `/copy` or `/copy last` | Copies the model's last reply. | | `/copy all` | Copies the whole conversation as Markdown. | ```text theme={null} /export notes/login-fix.md ``` The export has a `## User`, `## Assistant` or `## Tool Result` heading for each message, with a timestamp, followed by the complete message as a JSON block. It includes tool calls and their results, so you can see exactly what happened. `/export` overwrites an existing file and makes the file readable only by you. Copying uses `pbcopy` on macOS and `wl-copy`, `xclip` or `xsel` on Linux. If none of them works, for example over SSH, o4 sends the text to your terminal's clipboard with an OSC 52 escape sequence, which most modern terminals support. Set `O4_CLIPBOARD_OSC52=0` to turn that off. An export contains everything in the conversation, including file contents and command output the agent saw. Check it before you share it. ## Start over `/clear` clears the conversation in the current session, so the model starts with no history. To start a new session instead, press `Alt+N` to open one in a new tab, or quit and run `o4` again. ## Sessions in tabs Each tab is its own saved session, with its own history, and it shows up in the session picker like any other. `Alt+N` opens a new tab, `Alt+W` closes the current one, and `Alt+J` / `Alt+K` switch between them. A fork made with `/fork ` opens in a tab too. See [Session tabs](/guides/interface#session-tabs) for all the keys. ## Related pages * [Undo and rewind](/guides/checkpoints): go back to an earlier point in a session. * [Context and cost](/guides/context-and-cost): keep a long session within the model's context window. * [CLI reference](/reference/cli): every `o4` command and flag.