TL;DR
/tasks(alias/bashes) opens the panel where every parallel job in Claude Code converges: background bashes fromCtrl+B, cloud sessions from--remote, plans from/ultraplan, reviews from/ultrareview, memory consolidation, and subagents. If you've never opened it, it's probably because you haven't sent anything in yet.
Why nobody knows it exists
You probably opened /tasks once, saw "No tasks currently running" and closed it. So did I. The panel isn't interesting on its own — it's interesting once you realize it's the shared dashboard of five Claude Code features you're probably already using separately.
Each of those features delegates work somewhere (your shell, a cloud VM, a subagent, Claude's subconscious) and reports back to the same panel. /tasks is where they reunite.
The 5 things that populate your /tasks
1. Local background bashes (Ctrl+B)
While running a command with ! (bash mode), press Ctrl+B to send it to the background. It shows up in /tasks with its PID and live output. Perfect for long builds, heavy tests, or dev servers.
2. Cloud sessions with --remote
Every claude --remote "task" you launch creates a parallel cloud session. You can fire 3 or 4 at once and see them all listed here, each linking to claude.ai/code for the diff.
3. /ultraplan running in the cloud
/ultraplan delegates planning to a web session. Your terminal stays free while the plan is woven in the background. /tasks shows you the state (investigating, needs your input, ready) and the link to review.
4. /ultrareview in parallel
/ultrareview launches a fleet of reviewer agents in the cloud and takes 10–20 minutes. While they run, you keep coding. /tasks reports the progress of each one.
5. Memory consolidation and subagents
When Claude runs memory consolidation or spawns a subagent with run_in_background: true, those land here too.
How to navigate it
↑/↓ Move between tasks in the list
Enter Open a task — see output, session link, Stop option
←/Esc Close the panel and return to the conversation
Once inside a task you can read its full output or stop it if it's going off the rails.
How work gets in there
| Path | Who triggers it | When it appears |
|---|---|---|
Ctrl+B during a ! |
You, manually | The instant you press it |
claude --remote "..." |
You, from the CLI | When the cloud session is created |
/ultraplan |
You, command or keyword | After confirming the launch |
/ultrareview |
You, command or /ultrareview <PR> |
After confirming the launch |
Subagent with run_in_background |
Claude, autonomously | At spawn |
| Memory consolidation | Claude, during /auto-dream |
While running |
The mental shift
/tasks doesn't fill up because you open it. It fills up when you start to delegate. The right question isn't "what does /tasks do?" but "what long-running work am I running serially that could be running in parallel?"
Official docs: Interactive mode — Background bash commands · Commands reference