| name | compact |
| description | Compresses context for long sessions by writing state to disk and clearing working memory. Use when context is high/critical or before complex multi-step work. |
| allowed-tools | Read, Write |
Compact
Preserve critical state while freeing context capacity. Writes to disk, clears context, continues with renewed capacity.
When to Use
- Context status shows High or Critical
- Session running > 60 minutes
- About to start complex multi-step work
- Noticing degraded responses or forgotten instructions
What Compaction Does
Before: Context ~100% saturated
After: Context ~50% healthy (state saved to disk)
Process
- Capture State → Write to
.context/compact-state.md
- Refresh Instructions → Re-read safety rules, orchestration mode, tools
- Acknowledge → Report compaction complete, ready to continue
State File Template
# Compact State — [timestamp]
## Session Objective
[overall goal]
## Current Task
[what we're working on]
## Completed Work
- [task]: [outcome]
## Key Decisions
- [decision]: [rationale]
## Critical Context
[must-preserve information]
## Next Steps
1. [immediate]
2. [following]
What to Preserve
- Session objective and current task
- Completed work (avoid redoing)
- Key decisions (maintain consistency)
- Blockers and issues
- User preferences expressed
What to Clear (Safe)
- Exploration that didn't pan out
- Verbose explanations
- Raw file contents (re-read from disk)
- Detailed agent outputs (summary sufficient)
Output
## Context Compacted
**State saved**: `.context/compact-state.md`
### Preserved
- Session objective
- Current task
- Key decisions
### Restored
- Safety rules
- Orchestration mode
- Tool awareness
### Status
**Before**: Critical (~90%)
**After**: Low (~40%)
Ready to continue: [task]
Related
