> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt). > Markdown versions of each page are available by appending .md to any URL. # Agent conversations in the Warp CLI How agent conversations work in the Warp CLI: streaming responses, tool calls, diffs, task lists, plans, plus managing and resuming conversations. When you send the agent a prompt in the Warp CLI, the conversation unfolds in a scrollable transcript directly in your terminal. Responses stream in as they’re generated, and everything the agent does along the way renders inline: tool calls, file diffs, questions, task lists, and plans. You can follow and steer the work without leaving your session. This page also covers [managing conversations](#managing-conversations): starting new ones, browsing history, compacting context, and resuming after you exit. ## The conversation transcript Your prompt appears in the transcript on a highlighted row marked with `>`, followed by the agent’s streaming response. The transcript stays pinned to the newest output while the agent responds. Scroll up with the mouse wheel to review earlier output; scroll back to the bottom to resume following new output. While the agent is working, a progress indicator with elapsed time appears above the input. Press `Ctrl+C` once to stop the current response. ### Markdown rendering Agent responses render as formatted Markdown: - **Text formatting** - Headings, bold and italic text, inline code, and links. - **Lists** - Bulleted, numbered, and checkbox task lists, including nested lists. - **Code blocks** - Fenced code blocks render with syntax highlighting based on the block’s language. Very long code blocks are truncated to keep the transcript responsive. - **Tables** - Render as formatted tables with bold header rows. - **Mermaid diagrams** - Appear as diagram source in a code block, so you can copy the definition and render it elsewhere. - **Images** - The Warp CLI does not render images inline; an image reference shows its alt text instead. ## Tool calls Every tool call the agent makes appears in the transcript in the order it happens, interleaved with the agent’s prose. Most tool calls render as a single status row: a colored state glyph followed by a label describing the call, such as reading a file or searching your codebase. The glyph updates as the call moves from pending to running to finished, and failed or canceled calls are marked accordingly. Some tool calls render richer, interactive content instead: - **Shell commands** - Run in your session and stream their output into the transcript. See [running shell commands](/cli/shell-commands/). - **File edits** - Render as expandable diffs. See [code diffs](#code-diffs). - **Questions** - Render as interactive prompts. See [agent questions](#agent-questions). - **Plans** - Render as inline documents. See [planning](#planning). When a tool call needs your approval before it runs, an approval card appears in place of the input. See [permissions in the Warp CLI](/cli/permissions-and-profiles/) for how approvals work. ## Code diffs When the agent edits files, the edit renders as a diff in the transcript: - **Per-file sections** - Each edited file gets a header row showing the action (Updated, Created, or Deleted), the file name, and added/removed line counts. The diff body shows the changed hunks with a few lines of surrounding context, with removed lines displayed inline alongside additions. - **Multi-file edits** - Group under one summary header (for example, `Edited 3 files`) with each file’s section nested beneath it. Diffs open fully expanded while the agent waits for your approval, so you can review every change. Press `e` while the approval card is active to expand or collapse all diffs at once, or click an individual file’s header to toggle just that file. After the edits are applied, diff sections collapse to their headers to keep the transcript compact; click any header to reopen it. ## Thinking blocks For models that expose their reasoning, the agent’s thinking streams into the transcript as a collapsible section. While reasoning is in progress, the section is expanded under a `Thinking...` header. When it finishes, the section collapses to a single `Thought for` row showing how long the agent spent reasoning. Click the header to expand or collapse it at any time. ## Agent questions When the agent needs a decision from you mid-task, it asks a question with an interactive option list that temporarily replaces the input: 1. Use `↑` and `↓` to highlight an option, or press an option’s number. Clicking an option also works. 2. Press `Enter` to choose the highlighted option. 3. Choose **Other…** to type a free-form answer when the listed options don’t fit. Options the agent suggests as the best fit are labeled `(recommended)`. Multi-select questions mark each chosen option with a check mark so you can pick several. When the agent asks several questions at once, the card advances through them; after the last answer, the agent continues and focus returns to the input. ## Task lists For multi-step work, the agent tracks its progress with a task list rendered directly in the transcript under a bold `≡ Tasks` header. Each task row starts with a status glyph: - `◌` - Pending - `●` - In progress - `✓` - Completed Canceled tasks appear struck through. Task lists start expanded; click the header to collapse or reopen the list. As the agent finishes tasks, compact confirmation rows such as `✓ Completed (2/5)` mark progress without repeating the whole list. Task lists in the Warp CLI reflect the same agent behavior as in the Warp app. Learn more about [how task lists work](/agent-platform/capabilities/task-lists/). ## Planning Use the `/plan` slash command, followed by a description of your task, to have the agent research first and produce a plan before making changes. You can also ask for a plan in natural language. The plan renders inline in the transcript as a formatted document with its own header row showing the plan’s status, and an `Updated plan` entry appears when the agent revises it. Click the plan’s header to collapse or expand it. You can also toggle the latest plan with `Ctrl+Shift+P`; while a plan is open, a hint below it shows the exact shortcut. Planning in the Warp CLI follows the same workflow as the Warp app. See [Planning](/agent-platform/capabilities/planning/) for how plans are created, reviewed, and executed. ## Selecting and copying output Select text anywhere in the transcript by dragging with the mouse. The selection highlights as you drag, and releasing the mouse button copies the selected text to your clipboard automatically. The footer confirms with `copied to clipboard`. - **Word and row selection** - Double-click selects the word under the pointer, and triple-click selects the full row. Keep dragging to extend the selection by whole words or rows. - **Selections larger than the screen** - Dragging past the transcript’s top or bottom edge auto-scrolls and extends the selection, so a selection can span more output than fits on screen. Note In local sessions, the Warp CLI writes directly to your system clipboard. Over SSH, it copies through your terminal using OSC 52 escape sequences (including from inside tmux), so the text lands on your local clipboard. Terminals that disable OSC 52 may ignore the copy. To copy an entire conversation as Markdown, use the `/export-to-clipboard` slash command, or use `/export-to-file` to save it to a file. ## Managing conversations The Warp CLI saves every agent conversation as you work, so closing your terminal never loses your progress. You can start fresh conversations, reopen past ones from a searchable history, compact long conversations to free up context, and resume a conversation after exiting the CLI. ### Conversation persistence The Warp CLI saves conversations to your Warp account automatically. There is no separate save step. When you reopen a past conversation, the CLI restores the full transcript, including agent responses, tool calls, and file-edit diffs, so you can review earlier work in detail before continuing. The CLI shows one conversation at a time. Opening a past conversation replaces the current transcript, and your previous conversation remains available in the conversation history. You can’t switch conversations while the current conversation is responding or while a command is running; wait for it to finish or stop it with `Ctrl+C` first. ### Starting a new conversation Use any of these slash commands to clear the transcript and start a fresh conversation: - **`/new`** - Starts a new conversation. - **`/agent`** - Same as `/new`. - **`/clear`** - Same as `/new`. Each command accepts an optional prompt. For example, `/new write tests for the parser` starts a new conversation and immediately sends that prompt to the agent. Starting a new conversation is useful when you switch tasks. The agent begins with a clean context window, and you avoid carrying over history that is no longer relevant. If you want to keep the history but reduce its size instead, use [`/compact`](#compacting-context). ### Conversation history To browse and reopen past conversations, open the conversation menu in either of two ways: - **`/conversations`** - Run the slash command from the input. - **`←`** - Press the left arrow key when the input is empty and the cursor is at the start. The empty input shows a `← for conversations` hint as a reminder. The menu lists your Warp Agent conversations, including conversations started in the Warp app and completed cloud agent runs tied to your account. To use the menu: 1. Type to filter conversations by title. 2. Press `↑` and `↓` to change the selection. 3. Press `Enter` to open the selected conversation, or `Esc` to close the menu. Opening a conversation restores its transcript with tool calls and diffs intact, and new prompts you send continue that conversation. Caution If the CLI can’t load conversation data from Warp’s servers, the menu shows conversations from your local device only and displays a warning. Conversations from other devices reappear once the connection recovers. To continue a cloud agent run from the CLI, or to hand the current conversation off to a cloud agent, see [cloud handoff and orchestration in the Warp CLI](/cli/cloud-and-orchestration/). ### Compacting context Long conversations eventually fill the model’s context window, which can degrade response quality. The `/compact` command frees up context by asking the agent to summarize the conversation history so far and carry only the summary forward. - **`/compact`** - Summarizes the conversation history with default instructions. - **`/compact `** - Adds custom summarization instructions. For example, `/compact keep the API design decisions` tells the agent what to preserve in the summary. After compaction, a collapsed **Conversation summary** block appears in the transcript. The summary stays collapsed so it doesn’t crowd the transcript; select it to expand the full summary text. The conversation keeps working normally after compaction, with the summary standing in for the compacted history. ### Resuming conversations When you exit the Warp CLI with a non-empty conversation, it prints a command for picking that conversation back up: ``` To continue this conversation, run:warp --resume YOUR_CONVERSATION_TOKEN ``` Run the printed command to reopen the conversation in a new CLI session. YOUR\_CONVERSATION\_TOKEN is a conversation identifier generated by Warp; you don’t need to record it yourself as long as you can scroll back to the exit message, and the same conversation also remains available from the [`/conversations` menu](#conversation-history). The `--resume` flag loads the conversation at startup and restores the full transcript, so you can continue prompting where you left off. For the complete list of command-line flags, see the [Warp CLI reference](/cli/reference/). ## Related pages - **[Permissions in the Warp CLI](/cli/permissions-and-profiles/)** - Approve, reject, or auto-approve the agent’s tool calls. - **[Running shell commands](/cli/shell-commands/)** - How commands the agent (or you) run appear in the transcript. - **[Cloud handoff and orchestration in the Warp CLI](/cli/cloud-and-orchestration/)** - Hand off conversations to cloud agents and resume cloud runs. - **[Warp CLI reference](/cli/reference/)** - Command-line flags, slash commands, and keyboard shortcuts. - **[Planning](/agent-platform/capabilities/planning/)** - The full planning workflow. - **[Task lists](/agent-platform/capabilities/task-lists/)** - How agents create and update task lists.