diff --git a/src/frontends/tui/commands.test.ts b/src/frontends/tui/commands.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..917b408
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/frontends/tui/commands.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import { parseCommand, getHelpText } from './commands.js';
+
+describe('parseCommand', () => {
+  it('parses /quit command', () => {
+    expect(parseCommand('/quit')).toEqual({ type: 'quit' });
+    expect(parseCommand('/exit')).toEqual({ type: 'quit' });
+  });
+
+  it('parses /reset command', () => {
+    expect(parseCommand('/reset')).toEqual({ type: 'reset' });
+    expect(parseCommand('/clear')).toEqual({ type: 'reset' });
+  });
+
+  it('parses /help command', () => {
+    expect(parseCommand('/help')).toEqual({ type: 'help' });
+    expect(parseCommand('/?')).toEqual({ type: 'help' });
+  });
+
+  it('parses /status command', () => {
+    expect(parseCommand('/status')).toEqual({ type: 'status' });
+  });
+
+  it('parses /fullscreen command', () => {
+    expect(parseCommand('/fullscreen')).toEqual({ type: 'fullscreen' });
+    expect(parseCommand('/fs')).toEqual({ type: 'fullscreen' });
+  });
+
+  it('parses /model command without argument', () => {
+    expect(parseCommand('/model')).toEqual({ type: 'model' });
+  });
+
+  it('parses /model command with argument', () => {
+    expect(parseCommand('/model local')).toEqual({ type: 'model', name: 'local' });
+    expect(parseCommand('/model opus')).toEqual({ type: 'model', name: 'opus' });
+  });
+
+  it('parses /transfer command', () => {
+    expect(parseCommand('/transfer telegram')).toEqual({ type: 'transfer', target: 'telegram' });
+  });
+
+  it('parses regular message', () => {
+    expect(parseCommand('Hello Flynn')).toEqual({ type: 'message', content: 'Hello Flynn' });
+  });
+
+  it('returns null for empty input', () => {
+    expect(parseCommand('')).toBeNull();
+    expect(parseCommand('   ')).toBeNull();
+  });
+});
+
+describe('getHelpText', () => {
+  it('returns help text with all commands', () => {
+    const help = getHelpText();
+    expect(help).toContain('/help');
+    expect(help).toContain('/model');
+    expect(help).toContain('/reset');
+    expect(help).toContain('/quit');
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/frontends/tui/commands.ts b/src/frontends/tui/commands.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..015f4e7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/frontends/tui/commands.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+export type Command =
+  | { type: 'quit' }
+  | { type: 'reset' }
+  | { type: 'help' }
+  | { type: 'status' }
+  | { type: 'fullscreen' }
+  | { type: 'model'; name?: string }
+  | { type: 'transfer'; target: string }
+  | { type: 'message'; content: string };
+
+export function parseCommand(input: string): Command | null {
+  const trimmed = input.trim();
+  if (!trimmed) return null;
+
+  // Quit
+  if (trimmed === '/quit' || trimmed === '/exit') {
+    return { type: 'quit' };
+  }
+
+  // Reset
+  if (trimmed === '/reset' || trimmed === '/clear') {
+    return { type: 'reset' };
+  }
+
+  // Help
+  if (trimmed === '/help' || trimmed === '/?') {
+    return { type: 'help' };
+  }
+
+  // Status
+  if (trimmed === '/status') {
+    return { type: 'status' };
+  }
+
+  // Fullscreen
+  if (trimmed === '/fullscreen' || trimmed === '/fs') {
+    return { type: 'fullscreen' };
+  }
+
+  // Model (with optional argument)
+  if (trimmed === '/model') {
+    return { type: 'model' };
+  }
+  if (trimmed.startsWith('/model ')) {
+    const name = trimmed.slice('/model '.length).trim();
+    return { type: 'model', name };
+  }
+
+  // Transfer
+  if (trimmed.startsWith('/transfer ')) {
+    const target = trimmed.slice('/transfer '.length).trim();
+    return { type: 'transfer', target };
+  }
+
+  // Regular message
+  return { type: 'message', content: trimmed };
+}
+
+export function getHelpText(): string {
+  return `
+Commands:
+  /help, /?          Show this help
+  /model [name]      Show or switch model (local, default, fast, complex)
+  /reset, /clear     Clear conversation history
+  /status            Show session info and token usage
+  /fullscreen, /fs   Switch to fullscreen mode
+  /transfer <dest>   Transfer session to another frontend
+  /quit, /exit       Exit TUI
+`.trim();
+}
+
+export type ModelAlias = 'local' | 'default' | 'fast' | 'complex' | 'opus' | 'sonnet' | 'ollama';
+
+export function resolveModelAlias(alias: string): 'local' | 'default' | 'fast' | 'complex' {
+  const map: Record<string, 'local' | 'default' | 'fast' | 'complex'> = {
+    local: 'local',
+    ollama: 'local',
+    default: 'default',
+    opus: 'default',
+    fast: 'fast',
+    sonnet: 'fast',
+    complex: 'complex',
+  };
+  return map[alias.toLowerCase()] ?? 'default';
+}