Understanding how Slate works will help you use it more effectively. To get the most out of Slate, you’ll need to set up your environment and know how to prompt it well: -> Workspace Setup -> Prompting GuideDocumentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.randomlabs.ai/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Frequently Used Features
Switching Sessions
Use/sessions to switch between existing sessions:
Session Selection Process
- Type
/sessionsand press Enter - Use ↑/↓ arrows to navigate available sessions
Cancellation
Esc
Cancels the current agent step, current input or closes dialogs.
Ctrl+C
Hard interrupt - Stops the cli.
Message Queue
When Slate is busy and you submit a message, behavior depends on queue mode:- In queue mode (default), your message is queued and sent after the current run completes.
- In interrupt mode, your message interrupts the current run and is sent next.
Follow-up messages
Queued messages appear above the input box as “follow-up message(s)” with a count badge [n] showing how many are waiting. Messages drain automatically (with a short 50ms delay) once the session goes idle.
⌥ + ↑ (Alt+Up)
Pops the latest queued message back into the composer so you can edit it before it’s sent.
Esc on empty input
While the agent is busy, pressing Esc on an empty input aborts the session and restores all queued messages into the composer.
/queue-mode to toggle between queue mode and interrupt mode while the agent is busy.
The queue persists across navigation — queued messages are stored in draft state and won’t be lost if you switch sessions and come back.
Multi-line Messages
Use Ctrl+L to focus the input box from elsewhere in the UI. Use Ctrl+Enter or Option/Alt+Enter to insert newlines:Shell Command Input
Execute shell commands directly with!:
Context Management
Adding Context
Adding Context
Use
@filename references:Workspace Directories
Workspace Directories
Add directories to expand agent’s context:
Clearing Context
Clearing Context
Start fresh when switching tasks:
Long Prompts
Press Ctrl+X then E to open your external editor for composing complex prompts:This will not work if your permissions do not allow access to
tmp or var as this command uses a temp file for your default text editorHotkey reference
Explore Slate’s complete set of commands.

