Skip to main content
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 Guide

​
Frequently Used Features

​
Switching Sessions

Use /sessions to switch between existing sessions:

Session Selection Process

  1. Type /sessions and press Enter
  2. 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:
  • Press Enter to perform the current Enter mode action.
  • Press Tab to queue the current message so it runs after the current turn finishes.
Use /enter-mode-next to cycle what Enter does while Slate is working:
  • steer: Enter redirects the current run immediately
  • queue: Enter queues the message for later
  • interrupt: Enter aborts the current run and sends your message next
You can also set the mode directly with /steer, /queue, or /interrupt. Tab always queues the current message (regardless of the Enter mode) so it runs after the agent finishes. Steering delivers your message while the agent is still working — after the current response and any tool calls complete, your message is sent in before the agent continues. Use this to course-correct the agent mid-task. Queueing waits until the agent finishes everything it is doing, then delivers your message as the start of a new run. Use this to stack up follow-up tasks while the agent works. Interrupt aborts the current run entirely and sends your new message next, with any previously pending messages restored behind it.

Follow-up messages

Queued messages and steering messages appear above the input box under separate Steering and Queued sections. Steering messages deliver while the agent is still running; queued messages drain automatically 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.

Ctrl+X then Q

Opens all queued messages as ----separated markdown blocks in your external editor so you can review and reorder them. Use /queue-edit for the same behavior.

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.
You can also pre-load a queue from the command line with --queue (-q), passing a markdown file whose messages are separated by a line containing ---:
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:
Use Ctrl+A or Ctrl+E to jump to the beginning or end of the input context.

​
Shell Command Input

Execute shell commands directly with !:
This will send the command output to Slate directly.

​
Context Management

Use @filename references:
Use /workspace to open the workspace manager, where you can review and remove workspace directories. Use /add-dir when you want the quick-add flow.
Open the workspace manager before switching tasks to review directories and remove anything you no longer need.

​
Long Prompts

Press Ctrl+X then E to open your external editor for composing complex prompts:
1

Press Ctrl+X then E

Opens your system’s default editor
2

Write your prompt

Compose your detailed message in the editor
3

Save and close

The content automatically returns to Slate
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 editor

Hotkey reference

Explore Slate’s complete set of commands.

Orchestration & Tracing

Learn how Slate shows parent runs, subagents, background agents, programs, and trace activity.