Make /new reset the CLI view as a fresh session

What variant of Codex are you using?

CLI

What feature would you like to see?

Currently, /new creates a new conversation/thread, but the terminal UI still feels like it is continuing inside the same running view. The previous session remains visually present above, and the new session starts below it. Functionally this may be a new thread, but from the user’s perspective it does not feel like a clean reset.

What I expected from /new:

1. Start a new session/thread.
2. Clear the visible TUI conversation area.
3. Show the new session as a fresh Codex screen with no previous session history visible.
4. Keep the same terminal process open.

This would make /new more useful when switching tasks. For example, if I finish one task and want to start a separate unrelated task, I do not want the old session’s visual history still sitting above the new one. I want a clean workspace while staying inside the same codex process.

This is mostly a UX issue as /newtechnically starts a new session, but the visual behavior makes it feel less separate than expected.

I have put a reference image of the current behavior of Codex /new below.

<img width="943" height="708" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/6450435e-ac7a-4ead-bae9-2c4cd2210555" />

Additional information

One possible downside is that users would no longer be able to scroll up in the same terminal buffer to see the previous session after running /new. However, I think that is an acceptable tradeoff because /new semantically means starting a new session. If the user wants to continue or review the previous session, they can leave the new session and resume the previous chat from history instead.

This would keep the terminal buffer cleaner and make /new behave more like an intentional workspace reset rather than visually stacking separate sessions in one terminal view.