Slash Commands

Slash commands let you control a pw code session without leaving the conversation. Type / in the composer to open the command palette, which filters as you type and lists built-in commands, skills, custom commands, and MCP prompts. Press Tab to complete the highlighted command, or Enter to run it. /help prints the built-in commands only.

Built-In Commands

The composer has two other prefixes: @ references files and subagents, and ! runs a shell command yourself. See Interface & Shortcuts.

/effort

/effort <level> sets how hard the model reasons on each turn: default, none, minimal, low, medium, high, xhigh, or max. Models support different subsets, and /effort rejects a level the current model does not support. Bare /effort opens a slider; use ←/→ to choose and Enter to apply. The choice is saved for future sessions and shown beside the model in the status line. To set it at launch, pass --effort.

/autocompact

/autocompact <tokens> caps how large the conversation may grow before it is summarized automatically. The setting is global: it applies across models and future sessions, and the effective limit is the smaller of this value and the model's context window.

• Token counts accept 500k, 1m, or 200000. A bare number from 100 to 1000 means thousands, so 200 is 200K.
• auto (or reset, unset, default) returns to each model's own context window.
• Bare /autocompact shows the current value.

/permissions

See Allow Rules for rule syntax.

/auth

/auth signs you in again through your browser, or with a device code you can open on any device. When browser sign-in is not available, such as in a session attached to another resource, it asks you to paste an API key or token into a hidden prompt instead. Credentials typed on the same line as /auth are ignored, so they never reach the conversation or your prompt history.

Commands While the Agent Is Working

Most slash commands wait in the queue until the current turn ends. Some run right away:

• /cost, /status, /help, /diff, and /version print their output immediately.
• /goal and /remote-control (/rc) take effect immediately, so you can stop a goal loop or open the session to the web app mid-turn.
• /model, /allocation, /effort, /mcp, /hooks, and /agents with no arguments, and /settings, open their pickers immediately.

/resume and /rewind replace the conversation, so they always wait for the turn to finish.

Custom Slash Commands

You can define your own slash commands as markdown files. A file named <name>.md becomes the command /name, and its body is the prompt sent to the agent when you run it.

pw code looks for command files in these locations, in order of precedence:

1. <workspace>/.agents/commands/: project commands, shared with your group through version control
2. <workspace>/.pw/code/commands/: older project location, still read
3. ~/.config/agents/commands/: personal commands, available in every workspace (respects XDG_CONFIG_HOME)
4. ~/.pw/code/commands/ and ~/.claude/commands/: personal fallbacks, still read

When the same command name exists in several locations, the first one found wins.

File Format

An optional frontmatter block sets how the command appears and what it may do:

• description: the one-line description shown next to the command. Without one, the first line of the body is used.
• argument-hint: appended to the command name in the palette to show what arguments it expects.
• allowed-tools: tools the command's turn may use without prompting, as with skill tool grants. Personal commands get these grants directly. A project command gets them, and any dynamic context shell output in its body, only after you run /skills trust <name>; until then its prompt still runs, without them.

The body is a prompt template. These placeholders are substituted when the command runs:

• $ARGUMENTS (or $ARGS): everything typed after the command name
• $ARGUMENTS[N], or $0 through $9: individual arguments, 0-based, so $0 is the first one. Arguments are split shell-style, so a quoted "a b" counts as one. A position with no argument is left as literal text.

Unless the body consumes the whole string through $ARGUMENTS or $ARGS, the arguments are also appended as a trailing ARGUMENTS: line, so nothing you typed is silently dropped. Write \$0 to keep a placeholder literal. Skills use the same placeholders and add named arguments.

Example

Save this as .agents/commands/fix-issue.md in your workspace:

---
description: Investigate and fix a GitHub issue
argument-hint: <issue-number>
---
 
Look up GitHub issue #$0 with `gh issue view $0`.
Reproduce the problem, implement a fix, and run the relevant tests.
Summarize the root cause when you are done.

Then run it from the composer:

/fix-issue 123

The agent receives the body with $0 replaced by 123 and works through it as a normal turn.

Skills Are Slash Commands Too

Skills are instruction bundles that also appear in the palette as /name. They go beyond a single prompt file: a skill can ship supporting files, request tool grants for its turn, inline live shell output, and be invoked by the agent on its own when a task matches its description.

A typed /name resolves in the order built-in → skill → custom command, so a built-in name can never be shadowed, and a skill wins over a same-named custom command.

Related Documentation

• pw code Overview: Feature overview and quick start
• Plans, Goals & Checkpoints: /plan, /goal, /loop, and /rewind
• Remote Control & Agents: /rc and /agents
• Skills: Instruction bundles invoked by you or the agent
• Subagents: Fork conversations and delegate tasks
• MCP Servers: Connect external tools and prompts
• Permissions: Permission modes and allow rules
• Sessions & Resume: Save, rename, and resume sessions
• Usage & Costs: Track token usage and spend
• Settings: Configure pw code
• Interface & Shortcuts: Keyboard shortcuts and the composer