How to ask side questions with /btw in the Claude Code desktop app

A side chat in the Claude desktop app's Code tab reads your current session's context, but nothing you say there goes back into the main conversation. Use it to ask about a piece of code or check an assumption while the session keeps working.

Press Cmd+; on macOS or Ctrl+; on Windows, or type this in the prompt box.

/btw

The side chat can read everything in the main thread up to the moment you open it. When you're done, close it and carry on with the main session.

Side chats work in local, SSH and WSL sessions. The app doesn't save them to disk, so you can't go back to one after you close the app.