T cells undergo extensive chromatin remodeling over several days following stimulation through the T cell receptor. However, the kinetics and gene loci targeted by early remodeling events within the first 24 hours of T cell priming to orchestrate effector differentiation have not been well described. We identified that chromatin accessibility is rapidly and extensively remodeled within 1 hour of stimulation of naïve CD8 T cells, leading to increased global chromatin accessibility at many effector T cell-associated genes that are enriched for AP-1, early growth response (EGR), and nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) binding sites, but this short duration of stimulation is insufficient for commitment to clonal expansion . Sustained 24-hour stimulation led to further chromatin remodeling and was sufficient to enable clonal expansion. These data suggest that the duration of antigen receptor signaling is intimately coupled to chromatin remodeling and activation of genes involved in effector cell differentiation and highlight a potential mechanism that helps CD8 T cells discriminate between foreign- and self-antigens.