| name | context-cockpit |
| description | Audit and reclaim a session's context/token budget in one pass — read /context, trim MCP tools, clear vs compact, CLI-over-MCP, model ladder, red-MCP triage. |
| argument-hint | [optional: what you're about to do, so the reclaim targets it] |
| disable-model-invocation | true |
| allowed-tools | Read, Bash |
context-cockpit — inspect the window, then reclaim it
One pass to answer "why is this session heavy, and what do I run next." A thin orchestrator
over Claude Code's native context tools — it reads /context and hands you the exact next
move; it does not replace it. Absorbs MCP triage (the former mcp-doctor). Which substrate
to reach for belongs to connector-routing; this triages what a session already loaded.
Step 1 — Read the window (/context)
Run /context. It lists every loaded item — system prompt, MCP tool lists, files read,
message history — with token counts and % of window. Rank the top 3 token-eaters and mark
each keep / trim / drop against what the task at hand (the argument) actually needs.
- Fuel-gauge thresholds: <50% build freely · 50–70% getting heavy, wrap or compact ·
>85% danger — quality already slipped, don't start real work here.
- Completion criterion: top-3 eaters named, each with a keep/trim/drop verdict.
Step 2 — Trim MCP tools under 50
Every connected MCP loads its FULL tool list at startup, used or not — three servers can eat
~66% of the window before any work begins. Target enabled tool count < 50 and 3–5
servers max (past that, tool-selection accuracy drops, not just tokens).
claude mcp list
Also run /mcp for the in-session per-server token cost. Disconnect anything not used THIS
session (rule: "every session? no → disconnect until you do"). A heavy-but-rare MCP → wrap it
in a Skill Claude reads on demand instead of loading always.
- Completion criterion: enabled tool count < 50, or the over-budget servers named for disconnect.
Step 3 — Clear vs compact
/clear — full reset. Between UNRELATED tasks (new feature/bug/project). One task = one chat./compact — squeeze, keep the thread. Mid-task when the SAME job's chat gets long.- Rule: new task →
/clear; long task still going → /compact at ~60% (early enough to
compress cleanly; past 85% there's nothing healthy left). Never grind a 90%-full window.
- Goal-scoped compact: "Compact to: working code · 3 decisions that mattered · 1 gotcha ·
next 2 steps. Drop false starts and pasted files."
- Completion criterion: the exact
/clear or /compact to run is chosen.
Step 4 — CLI over MCP
A CLI loads NOTHING up front — Claude runs it on demand and only the result returns. "Anytime
you can move from an MCP to a CLI, do it." Before adding an MCP, ask: is there a CLI? (A
Playwright CLI did an MCP's job for ~90k fewer tokens.) Install the CLI and its matching Skill
together so Claude knows how to drive it.
- Completion criterion: each heavy MCP has a CLI-substitution verdict.
Step 5 — Model ladder
Cheapest capable rung wins. Haiku — quick edits, renames, summaries. Sonnet — default
workhorse, real building. Opus — hard bugs, architecture, deep planning. Rule: start one
rung LOWER than you think; climb only if it stalls. /model switches; /model opus-plan plans
on Opus then auto-drops to Sonnet for execution (worth it for multi-file refactors, not
one-line fixes). Put folder · model · context % in /statusline so you can see the rung.
- Completion criterion: the session is on the lowest rung that fits the task.
Red-MCP triage (when a server shows red)
Run /mcp, read the error line (right ~80% of the time), then in order, stop when green:
- Key — missing/wrong API key (#1 cause). Re-paste the full value, no stray spaces/quotes.
- Installed — server package absent ("command not found") → install per its docs.
- Restart — config is read at startup; fully quit and reopen Claude Code.
- Typo — one wrong char / missing comma in the config entry breaks it; validate the file.
- Completion criterion: the server is green, or the failing check is named for the operator.
Related
connector-routing picks WHICH substrate (MCP / CLI / Composio); this skill triages what a
session already loaded. Model tiers follow the Anthropic-Max ladder.
