Claude/Desktop/Q/Is it possible to fork a conversation in Claude Desktop?

• Is it possible to fork a conversation in Claude/Desktop?

  • AI Answer

    • AI/Response
      • Short answer: Yes — but the affordance depends on which Claude/Desktop tab you are in. The Code tab has an explicit Fork from here action (and shares Claude Code’s /branch / /fork session branching). The Chat tab supports branching conversations without losing the original, including a dedicated Fork control in recent releases and an older pattern of editing a prior message to start an alternate thread.
      • Code tab (Claude Code in Desktop):
        • Hover a past message and choose Fork from here to open a new session that copies history up to that point; the parent chat stays intact (GitHub issue describing Desktop Code-mode fork).
        • In the same engine as the CLI, /branch creates a conversation branch at the current point; /fork is an alias unless CLAUDE_CODE_FORK_SUBAGENT changes that behavior (Commands — /branch, Manage sessions — Branch a session).
        • From the terminal, claude --continue --fork-session or claude --resume --fork-session forks before resuming (Manage sessions).
      • Chat tab:
        • Anthropic’s help docs describe editing a prior chat message to create a different version of the conversation (with its own artifacts) while keeping earlier work — a branch-by-edit pattern (What are artifacts and how do I use them?).
        • Product roundups in early 2026 also list Fork as a first-class Chat control (hover a message → Fork from here), alongside /rewind and /recap; treat UI labels as version-dependent and confirm in your build.
      • What “fork” means here:
        • The forked thread inherits messages up to the fork point; parent and child diverge independently afterward (Manage sessions).
        • Forking is for exploring alternatives, not for a blank slate (start a new chat) and not a token saver (both threads retain copied history).
      • Limits / caveats:
        • Code tab: a forked Desktop Code session reuses the same working directory as the parent unless you manually use worktree flows; “fork into worktree” from Fork from here was requested but is not the default today (feature request #49954).
        • CLI branches: session-scoped permission approvals do not carry over to the new branch (Manage sessions).
        • Cowork and incognito chats follow different session rules; this answer targets normal Chat and Code conversations.