prompt-shelf

Stash multiple prompts for later in Claude Code and Codex CLI. You're halfway through a prompt and something else needs saying first: a quick question, a new idea, or Claude is heading the wrong way and needs steering. Press Ctrl+F to put the draft on the shelf, say what matters now, and press Ctrl+Q to bring the draft back when you're ready. Keep as many drafts on the shelf as you like, and they survive closing the session.

Install

Homebrew (macOS):

brew install sourabhshegane/tap/prompt-shelf
stash enable

One-line installer (uses npm under the hood):

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sourabhshegane/prompt-shelf/main/install.sh | sh

npm, with -g (not the npm i prompt-shelf shown on the npm page, which only adds it to the current folder):

npm i -g prompt-shelf && stash enable

Then open a new terminal tab and run claude or codex as usual. Ctrl+F stashes a draft, Ctrl+Q brings it back. stash doctor checks the setup: it should say on PATH: yes and claude: shim installed.

Why not Claude Code's Ctrl+S?

| | Claude Ctrl+S | prompt-shelf | | --- | --- | --- | | Drafts it holds | 1 | as many as you want | | Survives closing the session | no | yes | | Shared across repos | no | yes, filtered to the current repo by default | | Search | no | yes (/ in the list) |

The same keys work in Codex CLI too, and both agents share one shelf.

What install changes

stash enable puts a small claude / codex shim in ~/.prompt-shelf/bin/ and adds that folder to the front of your PATH with one marked line in your shell rc file (~/.zshrc, ~/.bashrc or ~/.config/fish/config.fish). Running it again is harmless. All of the agent's own arguments still work, e.g. claude --resume. Requires Node 20 or newer (Homebrew installs it for you).

Keys

While you're typing in Claude Code or Codex:

| Key | What it does | | --- | --- | | Ctrl+F | Stash what's in the box and clear it | | Ctrl+Q | Open the stash list. Whatever you've typed stays in the box |

In the list:

| Key | What it does | | --- | --- | | ↑ ↓ or j k | Move | | Enter | Unstash: add the entry to the box (on a new line after your text) and remove it from the stash | | a | Same, but keep it in the stash | | d then y | Delete the entry | | r | On a shelf: rename it (its prompts move with it) | | D then y | On a shelf: delete it and the prompts on it | | / | Search; Esc clears it | | Tab | Switch between this repo's entries and all of them | | Esc, q, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+F or Ctrl+Q | Close the list |

Pasted a long block that shows up as [Pasted text #1 +12 lines] (Claude) or [Pasted Content 1500 chars] (Codex)? Ctrl+F still saves the full text, not the placeholder.

prompt-shelf takes over Ctrl+F and Ctrl+Q while the agent runs. In Claude Code Ctrl+F normally moves the cursor right one character (the arrow key does the same). Pick other keys with stash hotkey if you use them.

When the agent starts, a dim line above the input box says prompt-shelf is on, shows both keys, and how many drafts are parked in this repo. It fades after a few seconds.

For a reminder that stays, Claude Code can show prompt-shelf in its status line (⌁ prompt-shelf · 2 parked · ctrl+f to stash · ctrl+q to unstash; without the count when nothing is parked). Add this to ~/.claude/settings.json:

"statusLine": { "type": "command", "command": "stash statusline" }

It prints nothing when Claude Code runs without prompt-shelf, and it replaces any status line you already have.

Both keys can be changed, to ctrl+<letter> or f1–f12:

stash hotkey f2        # stash key
stash hotkey list f3   # list key
stash hotkey           # show both

Commands

| Command | What it does | | --- | --- | | stash list [--all] | Print this repo's entries (--all: every repo) | | stash add <text> | Stash text from the command line | | stash pop [n] [--all] | Print entry n (1 = newest) and remove it | | stash rm <n> [--all] | Remove entry n | | stash hotkey [list] [key] | Show or change the hotkeys | | stash doctor | Check the shims, PATH and where the real agents live | | stash enable / stash disable | Add or remove the shims and the PATH line | | stash claude / stash codex | Run an agent through the wrapper explicitly | | STASH_OFF=1 claude | Run the real agent without the wrapper |

Troubleshooting

| What you see | Fix | | --- | --- | | Ctrl+F does nothing | You're in a tab or an agent session that was open before you installed. Open a new tab and start claude again. | | stash: command not found | It was installed without -g. Run npm i -g prompt-shelf (and npm rm prompt-shelf in the folder where you ran it without -g), or use Homebrew. | | Installed with Homebrew but Ctrl+F does nothing | Run stash enable once, then open a new tab. | | stash doctor says on PATH: no | Add the line it prints to your shell rc file and open a new tab. | | stash doctor says claude: shim missing | Claude Code wasn't on your PATH when you installed. Run stash enable. | | Your terminal already uses Ctrl+F or Ctrl+Q | Pick other keys: stash hotkey f2, stash hotkey list f3. | | You want the agent without prompt-shelf, once | STASH_OFF=1 claude |

Uninstall

stash disable                         # removes the shims and the PATH line
brew uninstall prompt-shelf           # if you used Homebrew
npm rm -g prompt-shelf                # if you used npm

Skipping stash disable is fine: the shims fall through to the real claude / codex when stash is gone.

Supported

| | Last tested with (macOS) | | --- | --- | | Claude Code | 2.1.284 | | Codex CLI | 0.157.1 |

CI runs typecheck, tests and build on Node 20, 22 and 24 (macOS) for every push and pull request to main.

How it works

claude resolves to a shim that runs stash claude. prompt-shelf starts the real claude in a pseudo-terminal and passes your keystrokes and its output straight through, so the agent behaves exactly as it would on its own. On the side it keeps a copy of the screen, and a small per-agent adapter reads the input box from it when you press Ctrl+F. Unstashing pastes the text back in as a normal paste. Nothing is ever sent to the agent for you.

Entries live in ~/.prompt-shelf/stash.jsonl and settings in ~/.prompt-shelf/config.json.

Caveats

• If an agent changes how its input box looks, Ctrl+F may stop reading it. When that happens it says "nothing to stash" and never clears anything it couldn't read.
• Long lines the agent wraps on screen are joined back with a space. In a very narrow terminal a wrap can occasionally come back as a line break.
• On a Mac keyboard the F-keys are media keys by default, so an f2 hotkey means pressing Fn+F2.

Roadmap and contributing

See ROADMAP.md for what's next (a prompt library with groups, more agents) and CONTRIBUTING.md to help out.

License

MIT