diff --git a/cli.py b/cli.py
index f0ba6fc991..7712fc95d3 100644
--- a/cli.py
+++ b/cli.py
@@ -4912,6 +4912,40 @@ class HermesCLI:
 
         flush_tool_summary()
         print()
+
+    def _handle_recap_command(self) -> None:
+        """Show a compact recap of recent activity in this session.
+
+        Inspired by Claude Code's ``/recap`` (v2.1.114, April 2026) — useful
+        when running multiple sessions simultaneously and returning to one
+        after a while. Purely local; no LLM call, no token cost, no cache
+        invalidation.
+        """
+        try:
+            from hermes_cli.session_recap import build_recap
+        except Exception as exc:  # pragma: no cover - defensive
+            print(f"  (recap unavailable: {exc})")
+            return
+
+        title = None
+        try:
+            if self._session_db and self.session_id:
+                row = self._session_db.get_session(self.session_id)
+                if row:
+                    title = row.get("title") or None
+        except Exception:
+            title = None
+
+        text = build_recap(
+            self.conversation_history or [],
+            session_title=title,
+            session_id=self.session_id,
+            platform="cli",
+        )
+        print()
+        for line in text.splitlines():
+            print(line)
+        print()
     
     def _notify_session_boundary(self, event_type: str) -> None:
         """Fire a session-boundary plugin hook (on_session_finalize or on_session_reset).
@@ -6364,6 +6398,8 @@ class HermesCLI:
                     pass
         elif canonical == "history":
             self.show_history()
+        elif canonical == "recap":
+            self._handle_recap_command()
         elif canonical == "title":
             parts = cmd_original.split(maxsplit=1)
             if len(parts) > 1:
diff --git a/gateway/run.py b/gateway/run.py
index 88196d6927..f7604e1748 100644
--- a/gateway/run.py
+++ b/gateway/run.py
@@ -4630,6 +4630,9 @@ class GatewayRunner:
             if event.get_command() == "status":
                 return await self._handle_status_command(event)
 
+            if event.get_command() == "recap":
+                return await self._handle_recap_command(event)
+
             # Resolve the command once for all early-intercept checks below.
             from hermes_cli.commands import (
                 ACTIVE_SESSION_BYPASS_COMMANDS as _DEDICATED_HANDLERS,
@@ -5004,6 +5007,9 @@ class GatewayRunner:
         if canonical == "status":
             return await self._handle_status_command(event)
 
+        if canonical == "recap":
+            return await self._handle_recap_command(event)
+
         if canonical == "agents":
             return await self._handle_agents_command(event)
 
@@ -6846,6 +6852,34 @@ class GatewayRunner:
 
         return "\n".join(lines)
 
+    async def _handle_recap_command(self, event: MessageEvent) -> str:
+        """Handle /recap command — compact summary of recent session activity.
+
+        Inspired by Claude Code's ``/recap`` (v2.1.114, April 2026). Purely
+        local: reads the transcript from SessionStore and builds a text
+        summary with no LLM call. Safe for prompt-cache integrity.
+        """
+        from hermes_cli.session_recap import build_recap
+
+        source = event.source
+        session_entry = self.session_store.get_or_create_session(source)
+        history = self.session_store.load_transcript(session_entry.session_id) or []
+
+        title = None
+        try:
+            if self._session_db:
+                title = self._session_db.get_session_title(session_entry.session_id)
+        except Exception:
+            title = None
+
+        platform_name = source.platform.value if source and source.platform else None
+        return build_recap(
+            history,
+            session_title=title,
+            session_id=session_entry.session_id,
+            platform=platform_name,
+        )
+
     async def _handle_agents_command(self, event: MessageEvent) -> str:
         """Handle /agents command - list active agents and running tasks."""
         from tools.process_registry import format_uptime_short, process_registry
diff --git a/hermes_cli/commands.py b/hermes_cli/commands.py
index 41b1dad500..589475cc9a 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/commands.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/commands.py
@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@ COMMAND_REGISTRY: list[CommandDef] = [
                cli_only=True),
     CommandDef("history", "Show conversation history", "Session",
                cli_only=True),
+    CommandDef("recap", "Summarize recent activity in this session", "Session"),
     CommandDef("save", "Save the current conversation", "Session",
                cli_only=True),
     CommandDef("retry", "Retry the last message (resend to agent)", "Session"),
@@ -319,6 +320,7 @@ ACTIVE_SESSION_BYPASS_COMMANDS: frozenset[str] = frozenset(
         "new",
         "profile",
         "queue",
+        "recap",
         "restart",
         "status",
         "steer",
diff --git a/hermes_cli/session_recap.py b/hermes_cli/session_recap.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d67f737d79
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hermes_cli/session_recap.py
@@ -0,0 +1,316 @@
+"""Session recap — summarize what's happened in the current session.
+
+Inspired by Claude Code's `/recap` command (v2.1.114, April 2026), which
+shows a one-line summary of what happened while a terminal was unfocused
+so users juggling multiple sessions can re-orient quickly.
+
+Source: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/whats-new/2026-w17
+
+Differences from Claude Code:
+    - Pure local computation from the in-memory conversation history. No
+      LLM call, no auxiliary model, no prompt-cache invalidation. A
+      recap should be instant and free.
+    - Works unchanged on CLI and every gateway platform (Telegram,
+      Discord, Slack, …) because both call into the same ``build_recap``
+      helper. Claude Code only shows this on the CLI.
+    - Tailored to hermes-agent's tool vocabulary (``terminal``, ``patch``,
+      ``write_file``, ``delegate_task``, ``browser_*``, ``web_*``) — the
+      recap surfaces which classes of work were most active.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import os
+from collections import Counter
+from typing import Any, Iterable, List, Mapping, Optional, Sequence, Tuple
+
+# How many recent user/assistant turns we consider "recent activity".
+_RECENT_TURN_WINDOW = 20
+
+# How many characters of the latest user prompt to show.
+_PROMPT_PREVIEW_CHARS = 140
+
+# How many characters of the latest assistant text to show.
+_ASSISTANT_PREVIEW_CHARS = 200
+
+# How many recently-touched files to list.
+_MAX_FILES_LISTED = 5
+
+# Tool names that identify a file-editing action and the argument key that
+# holds the path.
+_FILE_EDIT_TOOLS: Mapping[str, str] = {
+    "write_file": "path",
+    "patch": "path",
+    "read_file": "path",
+    "skill_manage": "file_path",
+    "skill_view": "file_path",
+}
+
+
+def _coerce_text(value: Any) -> str:
+    """Flatten assistant/user ``content`` into a plain string.
+
+    Content can be a string or a list of content blocks (for multimodal
+    or reasoning models). We concatenate every text-like block and
+    ignore the rest.
+    """
+    if value is None:
+        return ""
+    if isinstance(value, str):
+        return value
+    if isinstance(value, list):
+        parts: List[str] = []
+        for block in value:
+            if isinstance(block, str):
+                parts.append(block)
+                continue
+            if isinstance(block, Mapping):
+                text = block.get("text")
+                if isinstance(text, str) and text:
+                    parts.append(text)
+        return "\n".join(parts)
+    return str(value)
+
+
+def _tool_call_name_and_args(tool_call: Any) -> Tuple[str, Mapping[str, Any]]:
+    """Extract ``(name, arguments_dict)`` from a tool_call entry.
+
+    ``arguments`` may be a JSON string or a dict depending on provider.
+    Return an empty dict if it cannot be parsed.
+    """
+    if not isinstance(tool_call, Mapping):
+        return "", {}
+    fn = tool_call.get("function") or {}
+    if not isinstance(fn, Mapping):
+        return "", {}
+    name = str(fn.get("name") or "") or ""
+    raw_args = fn.get("arguments")
+    if isinstance(raw_args, Mapping):
+        return name, raw_args
+    if isinstance(raw_args, str) and raw_args:
+        try:
+            import json
+
+            parsed = json.loads(raw_args)
+            if isinstance(parsed, Mapping):
+                return name, parsed
+        except Exception:
+            return name, {}
+    return name, {}
+
+
+def _iter_assistant_tool_calls(
+    messages: Sequence[Mapping[str, Any]],
+) -> Iterable[Tuple[str, Mapping[str, Any]]]:
+    for msg in messages:
+        if not isinstance(msg, Mapping):
+            continue
+        if msg.get("role") != "assistant":
+            continue
+        tool_calls = msg.get("tool_calls") or []
+        if not isinstance(tool_calls, list):
+            continue
+        for tc in tool_calls:
+            name, args = _tool_call_name_and_args(tc)
+            if name:
+                yield name, args
+
+
+def _count_visible_turns(
+    messages: Sequence[Mapping[str, Any]],
+) -> Tuple[int, int, int]:
+    """Return ``(user_turn_count, assistant_turn_count, tool_message_count)``."""
+    users = assistants = tools = 0
+    for msg in messages:
+        if not isinstance(msg, Mapping):
+            continue
+        role = msg.get("role")
+        if role == "user":
+            users += 1
+        elif role == "assistant":
+            assistants += 1
+        elif role == "tool":
+            tools += 1
+    return users, assistants, tools
+
+
+def _latest_user_prompt(
+    messages: Sequence[Mapping[str, Any]],
+) -> Optional[str]:
+    for msg in reversed(messages):
+        if isinstance(msg, Mapping) and msg.get("role") == "user":
+            text = _coerce_text(msg.get("content")).strip()
+            if text:
+                return text
+    return None
+
+
+def _latest_assistant_text(
+    messages: Sequence[Mapping[str, Any]],
+) -> Optional[str]:
+    for msg in reversed(messages):
+        if not isinstance(msg, Mapping):
+            continue
+        if msg.get("role") != "assistant":
+            continue
+        text = _coerce_text(msg.get("content")).strip()
+        if text:
+            return text
+    return None
+
+
+def _recent_window(
+    messages: Sequence[Mapping[str, Any]], window: int = _RECENT_TURN_WINDOW
+) -> List[Mapping[str, Any]]:
+    """Return the tail slice of ``messages`` covering at most ``window``
+    user+assistant turns (tool messages ride along inside the window).
+
+    Iterating from the end, we count user and assistant messages and
+    keep everything from the first message that falls within the window.
+    """
+    count = 0
+    cut = 0
+    for i in range(len(messages) - 1, -1, -1):
+        msg = messages[i]
+        if isinstance(msg, Mapping) and msg.get("role") in ("user", "assistant"):
+            count += 1
+            if count >= window:
+                cut = i
+                break
+    else:
+        return list(messages)
+    return list(messages[cut:])
+
+
+def _shortened_path(path: str) -> str:
+    """Show a path relative to cwd when possible, otherwise with ~ expansion."""
+    if not path:
+        return path
+    try:
+        abs_path = os.path.abspath(os.path.expanduser(path))
+        cwd = os.getcwd()
+        if abs_path == cwd:
+            return "."
+        if abs_path.startswith(cwd + os.sep):
+            return abs_path[len(cwd) + 1 :]
+        home = os.path.expanduser("~")
+        if abs_path.startswith(home + os.sep):
+            return "~/" + abs_path[len(home) + 1 :]
+        return abs_path
+    except Exception:
+        return path
+
+
+def _summarise_tool_activity(
+    tool_calls: Sequence[Tuple[str, Mapping[str, Any]]],
+) -> Tuple[List[Tuple[str, int]], List[str]]:
+    """Return ``(tool_counts_sorted, recently_edited_files)``.
+
+    ``tool_counts_sorted`` is descending by count, keeping the full list
+    so callers can truncate for display. ``recently_edited_files`` lists
+    distinct paths (most recent first) from file-editing tools.
+    """
+    counter: Counter[str] = Counter()
+    files_seen: List[str] = []
+    files_set: set[str] = set()
+    # Walk in reverse so "most recent first" drops out of order-preserved iteration.
+    for name, args in reversed(list(tool_calls)):
+        counter[name] += 1
+        arg_key = _FILE_EDIT_TOOLS.get(name)
+        if arg_key:
+            path = args.get(arg_key)
+            if isinstance(path, str) and path and path not in files_set:
+                files_set.add(path)
+                files_seen.append(_shortened_path(path))
+    # Restore "reverse of reverse" for correct counts; Counter ignores order
+    # so only files_seen needed the reversal. Fix ordering: currently
+    # files_seen is newest→oldest which is what we want for display.
+    tool_counts = sorted(counter.items(), key=lambda kv: (-kv[1], kv[0]))
+    return tool_counts, files_seen
+
+
+def _truncate(text: str, limit: int) -> str:
+    text = " ".join(text.split())  # collapse newlines for a compact one-liner
+    if len(text) <= limit:
+        return text
+    return text[: limit - 1].rstrip() + "…"
+
+
+def build_recap(
+    messages: Sequence[Mapping[str, Any]],
+    *,
+    session_title: Optional[str] = None,
+    session_id: Optional[str] = None,
+    platform: Optional[str] = None,
+) -> str:
+    """Build a multi-line recap of recent activity.
+
+    Inputs:
+        messages: the full conversation history as a list of
+            chat-completion-style dicts (``role``, ``content``,
+            ``tool_calls``, …).
+        session_title: optional human title (from SessionDB).
+        session_id: optional session id.
+        platform: optional hint (``"cli"``, ``"telegram"``, …). Does not
+            change behavior today but is accepted for forward compat.
+
+    The output is plain text designed to render well in both a terminal
+    (with 80-col wrapping) and a gateway message bubble.
+    """
+    _ = platform  # reserved for future use
+    lines: List[str] = []
+
+    header_bits: List[str] = ["Session recap"]
+    if session_title:
+        header_bits.append(f"— {session_title}")
+    elif session_id:
+        header_bits.append(f"— {session_id[:8]}")
+    lines.append(" ".join(header_bits))
+
+    if not messages:
+        lines.append("  (nothing to recap — no messages yet)")
+        return "\n".join(lines)
+
+    users, assistants, tool_msgs = _count_visible_turns(messages)
+    window = _recent_window(messages)
+    win_users, win_assistants, _ = _count_visible_turns(window)
+
+    scope = (
+        f"{win_users} user turn{'s' if win_users != 1 else ''} / "
+        f"{win_assistants} assistant repl{'ies' if win_assistants != 1 else 'y'}"
+    )
+    if (users, assistants) != (win_users, win_assistants):
+        scope += f" (of {users}/{assistants} total)"
+    lines.append(f"  Recent: {scope}, {tool_msgs} tool result{'s' if tool_msgs != 1 else ''}")
+
+    tool_calls = list(_iter_assistant_tool_calls(window))
+    tool_counts, files = _summarise_tool_activity(tool_calls)
+    if tool_counts:
+        top = ", ".join(f"{name}×{count}" for name, count in tool_counts[:5])
+        extra = len(tool_counts) - 5
+        if extra > 0:
+            top += f" (+{extra} more)"
+        lines.append(f"  Tools used: {top}")
+    if files:
+        shown = files[:_MAX_FILES_LISTED]
+        extra = len(files) - len(shown)
+        entry = ", ".join(shown)
+        if extra > 0:
+            entry += f" (+{extra} more)"
+        lines.append(f"  Files touched: {entry}")
+
+    latest_user = _latest_user_prompt(window)
+    if latest_user:
+        lines.append(f"  Last ask: {_truncate(latest_user, _PROMPT_PREVIEW_CHARS)}")
+
+    latest_reply = _latest_assistant_text(window)
+    if latest_reply:
+        lines.append(f"  Last reply: {_truncate(latest_reply, _ASSISTANT_PREVIEW_CHARS)}")
+
+    if len(lines) == 2:
+        # Only the header + scope line — nothing substantive to show.
+        lines.append("  (no assistant activity yet in this window)")
+
+    return "\n".join(lines)
+
+
+__all__ = ["build_recap"]
diff --git a/tests/hermes_cli/test_session_recap.py b/tests/hermes_cli/test_session_recap.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3998c06c61
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/hermes_cli/test_session_recap.py
@@ -0,0 +1,180 @@
+"""Unit tests for hermes_cli.session_recap."""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import json
+
+import pytest
+
+from hermes_cli.session_recap import build_recap
+
+
+def _user(text):
+    return {"role": "user", "content": text}
+
+
+def _assistant(text=None, tool_calls=None):
+    msg = {"role": "assistant", "content": text}
+    if tool_calls:
+        msg["tool_calls"] = tool_calls
+    return msg
+
+
+def _tool_call(name, args):
+    return {
+        "id": f"call_{name}",
+        "type": "function",
+        "function": {"name": name, "arguments": json.dumps(args)},
+    }
+
+
+def _tool_result(content="ok"):
+    return {"role": "tool", "content": content}
+
+
+def test_empty_history():
+    out = build_recap([])
+    assert "Session recap" in out
+    assert "nothing to recap" in out
+
+
+def test_header_shows_title_when_provided():
+    out = build_recap([_user("hello")], session_title="Refactor the adapter")
+    assert "Refactor the adapter" in out.splitlines()[0]
+
+
+def test_header_shows_short_id_when_no_title():
+    out = build_recap([_user("hello")], session_id="abcdef1234567890")
+    assert "abcdef12" in out.splitlines()[0]
+
+
+def test_counts_recent_turns():
+    msgs = [
+        _user("one"),
+        _assistant("first reply"),
+        _user("two"),
+        _assistant("second reply"),
+    ]
+    out = build_recap(msgs)
+    assert "2 user turn" in out
+    assert "assistant repl" in out
+
+
+def test_last_ask_and_reply_are_surfaced():
+    msgs = [
+        _user("old question"),
+        _assistant("old answer"),
+        _user("summarise the docs"),
+        _assistant("here is the summary of the docs you asked for"),
+    ]
+    out = build_recap(msgs)
+    assert "summarise the docs" in out
+    assert "summary of the docs" in out
+
+
+def test_tool_counts_and_files():
+    msgs = [
+        _user("edit the readme and run tests"),
+        _assistant(
+            tool_calls=[
+                _tool_call("read_file", {"path": "README.md"}),
+                _tool_call("patch", {"path": "README.md"}),
+            ]
+        ),
+        _tool_result(),
+        _tool_result(),
+        _assistant(
+            tool_calls=[
+                _tool_call("terminal", {"command": "pytest"}),
+            ]
+        ),
+        _tool_result("tests ok"),
+        _assistant("All green."),
+    ]
+    out = build_recap(msgs)
+    assert "patch×1" in out
+    assert "terminal×1" in out
+    assert "read_file×1" in out
+    # README.md should appear (may include cwd-relative prefix stripping).
+    assert "README.md" in out
+
+
+def test_tool_preview_length_truncates_long_user_prompt():
+    long = "x " * 500
+    out = build_recap([_user(long)])
+    ask_line = [l for l in out.splitlines() if "Last ask" in l][0]
+    assert len(ask_line) < 300  # truncated with ellipsis
+    assert "…" in ask_line
+
+
+def test_respects_recent_window():
+    # 30 turns of user+assistant; only the most recent 20 should be summarised.
+    msgs = []
+    for i in range(30):
+        msgs.append(_user(f"question {i}"))
+        msgs.append(_assistant(f"answer {i}"))
+    out = build_recap(msgs)
+    # We scoped to the 20-turn window but show "of 30/30 total".
+    assert "of 30/30 total" in out
+
+
+def test_multimodal_content_blocks_flattened():
+    msgs = [
+        {
+            "role": "user",
+            "content": [
+                {"type": "text", "text": "check this file"},
+                {"type": "image_url", "image_url": {"url": "..."}},
+            ],
+        },
+        _assistant("Looked at your image."),
+    ]
+    out = build_recap(msgs)
+    assert "check this file" in out
+    assert "Looked at your image" in out
+
+
+def test_handles_arguments_as_dict_not_string():
+    # Some providers return arguments already as a dict.
+    msgs = [
+        _user("go"),
+        {
+            "role": "assistant",
+            "content": None,
+            "tool_calls": [
+                {
+                    "type": "function",
+                    "function": {
+                        "name": "patch",
+                        "arguments": {"path": "foo.py"},
+                    },
+                }
+            ],
+        },
+    ]
+    out = build_recap(msgs)
+    assert "patch×1" in out
+    assert "foo.py" in out
+
+
+def test_no_assistant_activity_hint():
+    out = build_recap([_user("just sent my first message")])
+    assert "no assistant activity" in out or "Last ask" in out
+
+
+def test_tool_message_count_reported():
+    msgs = [
+        _user("go"),
+        _assistant(tool_calls=[_tool_call("read_file", {"path": "a"})]),
+        _tool_result(),
+        _tool_result(),
+        _assistant("done"),
+    ]
+    out = build_recap(msgs)
+    assert "2 tool result" in out
+
+
+def test_ignores_non_mapping_entries_gracefully():
+    msgs = [None, "stray", _user("hi"), _assistant("hello")]
+    # Should not raise.
+    out = build_recap(msgs)
+    assert "Session recap" in out
diff --git a/website/docs/reference/slash-commands.md b/website/docs/reference/slash-commands.md
index ef566cd5ba..e4f6f861de 100644
--- a/website/docs/reference/slash-commands.md
+++ b/website/docs/reference/slash-commands.md
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ Type `/` in the CLI to open the autocomplete menu. Built-in commands are case-in
 | `/new` (alias: `/reset`) | Start a new session (fresh session ID + history) |
 | `/clear` | Clear screen and start a new session |
 | `/history` | Show conversation history |
+| `/recap` | Compact summary of recent session activity (turn counts, tools used, files touched, last ask/reply). Purely local; no LLM call or token cost. Works in CLI and on every gateway platform. Inspired by Claude Code's `/recap`. |
 | `/save` | Save the current conversation |
 | `/retry` | Retry the last message (resend to agent) |
 | `/undo` | Remove the last user/assistant exchange |