Use /btw for quick side questions /btw pops up an overlay for a quick question without entering your conversation history. I use it for clarifications about the current session: "Why did you choose this approach?" or "What's the tradeoff with the other option?" The answer shows in a dismissible overlay, your main context stays lean, and Claude keeps working. 15. Use --worktree for isolated parallel branches claude --worktree feature-auth creates an isolated working copy with a new branch. Claude handles the git worktree setup and cleanup for you. The Claude Code team calls this one of the biggest productivity unlocks. Spin up 3-5 worktrees, each running its own Claude session in parallel. I usually run 2-3. Each worktree gets its own session, its own branch, and its own file system state. The ceiling on local worktrees is your machine. Multiple dev servers, builds, and Claude sessions all competing for CPU. Builder.io moves each agent to its own cloud container with a browser preview, so your machine stays free for the work that needs your brain. 16. Stash your prompt with Ctrl+S You're halfway through writing a long prompt and realize you need a quick answer first. Ctrl+S stashes your draft. Type your quick question, submit it, and your stashed prompt restores automatically. 17. Background long-running tasks with Ctrl+B When Claude kicks off a long bash command (a test suite, a build, a migration), press Ctrl+B to send it to the background. Claude continues working while the process runs, and you can keep chatting. The result appears when the process finishes. 18. Add a live status line The status line is a shell script that runs after every Claude turn. It displays live information at the bottom of your terminal: current directory, git branch, context usage color-coded by how full the window is. The fastest way to set one up is /statusline inside Claude Code. It'll ask what you want to display and generate the script for you. I covered the full setup with a copy-paste script in customizing Claude Code. 19. Use subagents to keep your main context clean "Use subagents to figure out how the payment flow handles failed transactions." This spawns a separate Claude instance with its own context window. It reads all the files, reasons about the codebase, and reports back a concise summary. Your main session stays clean with plenty of room to build something. A deep investigation can consume half your context window before you write any code. Subagents keep that cost out of your main session. Built-in types include Explore (Haiku, fast file search) and Plan (read-only analysis). For the full picture, see our guide on subagents and agent teams. 20. Agent teams for multi-session coordination Experimental but powerful. Enable it first by adding CLAUDE_CODE_EXPERIMENTAL_AGENT_TEAMS to your settings or environment. Then tell Claude to create a team: "Create an agent team with 3 teammates to refactor these modules in parallel." A team lead distributes work to teammates, each with their own context window and a shared task list. Teammates can message each other directly to coordinate. Start with 3-5 teammates and 5-6 tasks per teammate. Avoid assigning tasks that modify the same files. Two teammates editing the same file leads to overwrites. Start with research and review tasks (PR reviews, bug investigations) before attempting parallel implementation. 21. Guide compaction with instructions When context compacts (automatically or via /compact), tell Claude what to preserve: "/compact focus on the API changes and the list of modified files." You can also add standing instructions to your CLAUDE.md: "When compacting, preserve the full list of modified files and current test status." 22. Use /loop for recurring checks /loop 5m check if the deploy succeeded and report back schedules a recurring prompt that fires in the background while your session stays open. The interval is optional (defaults to 10 minutes) and supports s, m, h,