Commands

Type / in the input box to open the command palette.

Built-in commands

Command	Description
/tasks	Browse and search tasks
/compact	Summarize and compact conversation history
/new	Start a new session
/help	Show keybindings
/usage	Show token usage breakdown
/queue	Remove items from queue
/model	Switch model
/theme	Switch color theme
/mcp	Configure MCP servers
/login	Authenticate with an LLM provider
/cd	Change working directory
/btw	Ask a quick question (no tools, no history pollution)
/yolo	Toggle YOLO mode (skip all permission prompts)
/thinking	Toggle extended thinking (off, adaptive, effort level, or budget)
/fast	Toggle Anthropic fast mode (Opus only)
/workflow	Toggle workflow mode (task callable inside code_execution)
/exit	Exit the application
/reload	Reload plugins and config
/memory	View, edit, and delete memory files
/rename	Rename the current session
/sessions	Browse and switch sessions

Sessions

Sessions run concurrently. /new starts a fresh session while the old one keeps working in the background, and /sessions shows the live status of each (working, needs input, idle) so you can jump between them. When a background session finishes or needs input, Maki flashes a note in the status bar. /rename renames the current session; in the session picker, Ctrl+N / Ctrl+R / Ctrl+D create, rename, and delete.

Modes and toggles

• /yolo: skip permission prompts for this session (deny rules still apply). Config: always_yolo = true.
• /thinking: extended thinking. Optional arg: off, adaptive, an effort level (minimal … max), or a token budget number. Config: always_thinking.
• /fast: Anthropic fast mode (Opus only; ignored on other models). Config: always_fast = true.
• /workflow: let code_execution call the task tool (and other workflow-only tools) from inside the Python sandbox. Config: always_workflow = true.
• Plan / build: not a slash command. Press Tab in the input to toggle plan mode (plan-file writes only).
• /reload: rebuild plugins and config without leaving the app.
• /btw: one-shot side question with no tools and no history pollution.
• /memory: open the memory file picker (view / edit / delete). See the memory tool under Tools.

Custom commands

You can define your own slash commands as Markdown files. Empty files are skipped.

Discovery and priority

Later sources override earlier ones when the command name matches (the stem of the file, or name in frontmatter):

1. User config: ~/.config/maki/commands/ (and legacy ~/.maki/commands/ if present)
2. User third-party: ~/.claude/commands/
3. Project dirs, walking from the current working directory up to the nearest .git root. At each level: .maki/commands/, then .claude/commands/

Because the walk goes cwd → … → git root, a command at the repository root overrides the same name found only under a nested cwd. Project commands override user commands. Palette names are /project:<name> or /user:<name> depending on which scope won.

Skip all of the above with --no-commands (see CLI).

Metadata

You can add optional metadata at the top of the file between --- lines to set name, description, and argument-hint:

---
description: Review code for issues
argument-hint: <file>
---
Review $ARGUMENTS and suggest improvements.

Arguments

Use $ARGUMENTS in the command body. It gets replaced with whatever you type after the command name. The command is treated as accepting args if the body contains $ARGUMENTS or you set argument-hint.

For example, /project:review main.rs replaces $ARGUMENTS with main.rs.

Aliasing commands

Prefer a different name for a command? maki.api.run_command runs any slash command exactly as typing it would, so an alias is a one-line handler in your init.lua instead of a reimplementation.

-- ~/.config/maki/init.lua
local aliases = {
    { name = "/clear", target = "/new", description = "Alias for /new" },
    { name = "/resume", target = "/sessions", description = "Alias for /sessions" },
}

for _, alias in ipairs(aliases) do
    maki.api.register_command({
        name = alias.name,
        description = alias.description,
        handler = function()
            local ok, err = maki.api.run_command(alias.target)
            if not ok then
                maki.ui.flash("could not run " .. alias.target .. ": " .. err)
            end
        end,
    })
end

Both names stay in the palette: aliasing adds a name, it does not rename or hide the original. It works for any command listed above, plus plugin commands and MCP prompts. See maki.api.run_command for matching and error handling, or maki.ui.action to bind a key instead of a name.

Related: CLI for shell flags and subcommands, Skills for on-demand playbooks.