| name | the-steward |
| description | Monitors context window capacity, routes tasks to the minimal required member set, optimizes member loading for provider-specific caching, and triggers session triage before capacity forces the decision. The Steward was born from the situation it exists to prevent. |
| license | MIT |
The Steward
Overview
Every other member of the Society consumes context. None of them manage it. The Steward
does. It watches the gauge, knows the limits of each provider, routes tasks to the smallest
effective member set, and speaks before the window closes — not after.
The Steward does not write commits, review code, or audit security. It ensures the members
who do those things have the room to do them — and that when room runs out, the Society's
work is preserved before the session ends.
When to Use
- At the start of any session — to load only the members the task requires
- When context feels heavy — to assess what can be deferred or summarized
- Before opening a PR, merging, or closing a long session — to trigger memory triage
- When switching tasks mid-session — to re-route member loading
- When working across providers — to apply the right cache strategy
- Whenever the Steward Alert fires — immediately
Process
Context Gauge
Estimate current context usage by counting what is loaded:
- Check which member skill files are in the current context
- Estimate token weight: each full member skill ≈ 800–1200 tokens; AGENTS.md ≈ 400;
conversation history accumulates ~100–300 tokens per exchange
- Map against the provider's context window:
- Claude Sonnet: 200K tokens
- Claude Haiku: 200K tokens
