> ## Documentation index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://haarness.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Find and resume a chat

Every chat with Haarness is saved, so you can close the terminal and pick up later. Chats belong
to the folder you started them in. The commands are named `sessions`; `--session` and `--thread`
both take a chat's ID.

## Resume where you left off

```sh
haarness --continue
```

This opens the terminal UI on the most recent chat in this folder. Inside the terminal UI,
`/sessions` (or `Ctrl+L`) opens the list instead. When you quit the terminal UI, it prints the
command that reopens that chat.

## Find an older chat

```sh
haarness sessions list
haarness sessions list --all      # include archived chats
```

Each line shows one chat, separated by tabs: its ID, title, model and when it was last updated,
newest first. Then open one:

```sh
haarness --thread <id>
```

`--session` works the same as `--thread`. To see a chat's details without opening it, run
`haarness sessions get <id>`; add `--transcript` for the whole conversation as JSON.

To look in another folder, add `--workspace <path>` to any of these commands.

## Continue a chat from a script

```sh
haarness run --continue "and now add tests"
haarness run --thread <id> "…"
```

See [Run a prompt from a script or CI](https://haarness.ai/docs/cli/headless-runs.md).

## Try a different approach

Forking copies a chat so you can go another way without losing the original.

```sh
haarness sessions fork <id>
haarness sessions fork <id> --title "Try the streaming API"
haarness tui --continue --fork      # fork the last chat and open the copy
```

`sessions fork` prints the new chat's title and ID; add `--json` for the whole record. To fork from
an earlier point, pass `--at <sequence>` with an item's `sequence` from
`haarness sessions get <id> --transcript`. In the terminal UI,
`/fork` lets you fork from now or from an earlier reply. The
[message browser](https://haarness.ai/docs/tui/messages.md) can also fork from any message.

## Tidy up old chats

```sh
haarness sessions archive <id>
haarness sessions unarchive <id>
```

Archived chats are hidden from the list but kept. `haarness sessions list --all` shows them.

## Ask a side question

```sh
haarness btw <id> "Which file did we change the retry logic in?"
```

`btw` answers a question about a chat without adding anything to it. The answer uses no tools,
and the chat's work carries on undisturbed. In the terminal UI and
[Desktop](https://haarness.ai/docs/desktop/the-conversation.md#ask-a-side-question), `/btw <question>` opens a side
chat where you can ask follow-ups.

## Export or share a chat

```sh
haarness sessions export <id> -o chat.json
haarness sessions import chat.json
```

Export writes the chat, including the chats its helpers and workflows created, to one JSON file.
It will not overwrite an existing file unless you add `--force`; without `-o`, it prints the JSON.
Importing the same file twice does not create duplicates: the second import merges into the copy
already there.

`--sanitize` replaces the conversation text and other sensitive text with placeholders. Use it
when you need to share the shape of a chat, for example in a bug report, without its content.

## If Haarness stops unexpectedly

Your chats are kept. Haarness does not re-run commands or edits that were in progress; they
are marked as interrupted. A [goal](https://haarness.ai/docs/tui/goals.md) that was active comes back paused until you
continue it.

## Reference

| Command | Does |
| --- | --- |
| `haarness --continue` | Open the most recent chat here |
| `haarness --thread <id>` | Open a specific chat |
| `sessions list [--all] [--json]` | List chats in this folder |
| `sessions get <id> [--transcript]` | Show one chat as JSON |
| `sessions fork <id> [--title] [--at] [--json]` | Copy a chat |
| `sessions archive` / `unarchive <id>` | Hide or restore a chat |
| `sessions export <id> [-o file] [--force] [--sanitize]` | Save as JSON |
| `sessions import <file> [--json]` | Load an exported chat |
| `btw <id> "<question>"` | Ask without changing the chat |

## Related

- [Work on a branch in a worktree](https://haarness.ai/docs/cli/worktrees.md)
- [Find messages and ask side questions](https://haarness.ai/docs/tui/messages.md)