Clone Conversations to Branch Your Work

Sometimes you’re mid-conversation and want to try a different approach without losing your current progress. Clone the conversation to branch off.

How to Clone

In a new terminal, resume the session you want to branch from:

claude --resume

Pick the session from the list. Now you have two terminals with the same conversation context. Take each one in a different direction.

Half-Clone Pattern

A half-clone starts fresh but carries over just the key context:

# In the original session, ask Claude to summarize
> Summarize what we've done so far, the current state of the code,
  and what's left to do. Format it as a handoff document.

# Copy the summary, start a new session
claude

# Paste the summary as your first message
> Here's where we are: [paste summary]
> Now let's try a different approach to the auth module...

When to Clone vs. Half-Clone

Situation	Use
Try two implementations of the same thing	Full clone
Context is getting long, want a fresh start	Half-clone
Need to explore a risky refactor safely	Full clone
Splitting work across two focus areas	Half-clone

Tip

Combine cloning with git worktrees. Clone the conversation AND the repo so each Claude works on an isolated branch.