acc

name	acc
description	Adaptive Context Compressor — bidirectional. Mode A (default): compresses chat history into a load-bearing summary; commit to docs/acc/NNN-…md for cross-session reuse. Mode B (invoke-last): loads the most recent ACC from docs/acc/ (or the global archive at ~/.claude/acc as fallback) into the current session as inherited context — call at session start to skip replaying prior conversation.

ACC — Adaptive Context Compressor

You are compressing the current conversation into a minimal, high-signal context document. The goal is to reduce token consumption while preserving every fact needed to continue working without loss.

Input

Optional focus area: $ARGUMENTS

If provided, weight the compression toward that area. If not, compress everything.

Modes — branch on argument

This skill has two modes. Read the argument first and pick the mode:

• If $ARGUMENTS is exactly invoke-last or load-last (case-insensitive, whitespace stripped) → run Mode B below. Skip the entire Process section.
• Otherwise → run Mode A (the Process section below). The argument, if present, is the focus area for compression.

Mode B — Invoke last ACC (consumer mode)

The user wants to load a prior ACC into the current session as inherited context. Do NOT produce a new ACC.

Steps:

1. Locate the archive directory. Check docs/acc/ in the current working directory. If it doesn't exist or contains no ACC entries (nothing besides README.md and _*.md), but the global archive has entries (~/.claude/acc, or $ACC_GLOBAL_DIR if set), use the global archive instead — pass --global to the script in step 2. If neither has entries, report No docs/acc/ archive found in current directory (and no global archive) — nothing to invoke and stop. Suggest the user cd into the right project or reference a specific ACC path.
2. Find the latest ACC. From the project root, run python "<skill-dir>/scripts/find_latest_acc.py" (python3 on macOS/Linux), where <skill-dir> is this skill's directory — see Bundled resources. It globs docs/acc/*.md, excludes README.md and _*.md extractor outputs, sorts lexicographically, and prints the newest path; it exits non-zero with a message if the archive is missing or empty. (Add --global to read the cross-project archive — ~/.claude/acc, or $ACC_GLOBAL_DIR if set — instead. If the script reports the project archive is empty and you haven't tried the global archive yet, rerun with --global before stopping.) Fallback (if you can't run the script): glob docs/acc/*.md yourself, skip README.md and _*.md files, and take the lexicographically highest filename — convention NNN-YYYY-MM-DD-topic.md, so highest NNN is most recent.
3. Read the file via the Read tool (full file, no offset/limit).
4. Acknowledge in one or two sentences: "Loaded ACC NNN — [date] [focus from header]. Continuing from there." Surface any unblocked next-actions or open questions worth flagging.
5. Do NOT run Step 0 necessity check — that gate is for production. Consumption is always cheap (the file is small by construction; that's the whole point).

If the user wants a specific ACC (not the latest), they should pass the path directly via Read or cat, not via this skill.

If multiple docs/acc/ archives exist across nested directories (rare), only consider the one in or directly under the working directory.

After Mode B completes, stop. Do not produce new compression — that's Mode A.

Process

Step 0 — Necessity check (run before compressing)

ACC's only leverage is inter-session: it produces a portable artifact that lets a future thread skip replaying this one. Within the current session it adds tokens, not removes them.

Apply the rubric in references/necessity-check.md (read it now). If ≥4 of its criteria favor HANDOFF, abort with "ACC not needed — HANDOFF covers it" and tell the user why. Otherwise proceed to Step 1.

If the user explicitly invoked /acc, you may still produce one — but lead with the necessity finding so the user can decide whether to keep it. Don't silently produce a low-value artifact.

Step 1 — Extract the five dimensions

Scan the full conversation and extract ONLY the following. Everything else is discarded.

1. DECISIONS MADE (what was decided and why)

- D: [decision] — because [one-line reason]

Only include decisions that affect future work. Skip exploratory dead ends unless they were explicitly ruled out (those become "rejected approaches").

2. CURRENT STATE (what exists right now)

- [artifact]: [status] — [one-line description]

Files created, tests passing, versions bumped, branches, uncommitted changes. Facts, not narrative.

3. OPEN QUESTIONS / BLOCKERS

- Q: [question or blocker] — affects [what downstream work]

Only unresolved items. If it was answered during the conversation, it goes in DECISIONS, not here.

4. REJECTED APPROACHES (what was tried and why it failed)

- X: [approach] — rejected because [reason]

These prevent re-exploring dead ends. Only include if the approach was seriously considered, not just mentioned.

5. NEXT ACTIONS (what to do next, in order)

1. [action] — [target file or artifact]
2. [action] — [target file or artifact]

Ordered by dependency. Each action should be specific enough to execute without re-reading the conversation.

Step 2 — Compress to token budget

Target: under 800 words total across all five dimensions. If the conversation was short, the compression can be shorter. Never pad.

Rules:

• One line per item. No paragraphs.
• File paths are cited as file:line only when the line number matters for future work
• No recapping what tools were used or how — only WHAT was produced
• No emotional language, no "we explored", no "interestingly" — just facts
• Timestamps only if they affect sequencing decisions
• If a decision references a governing document, keep the citation (e.g., "per ICS-001 §4.2")

Step 3 — Scaffold the file, then fill it

Create the output file by running, from the project root:

python "<skill-dir>/scripts/new_acc.py" --topic <slug> --focus "<focus area>"

(python3 on macOS/Linux; <skill-dir> is this skill's directory — see Bundled resources. Add --date YYYY-MM-DD only to override today; add --dry-run to print the path and next NNN without writing; add --global to write the cross-project archive — ~/.claude/acc, or $ACC_GLOBAL_DIR if set — instead of docs/acc/.) The script computes the next zero-padded NNN, seeds docs/acc/README.md on first run, renders assets/acc-template.md, and writes docs/acc/NNN-YYYY-MM-DD-topic.md, printing the path.

Then fill the five sections in that file (the script scaffolds the skeleton only) and replace the {{TOKENS_BEFORE}} / {{TOKENS_AFTER}} placeholders with your estimates. The canonical format is assets/acc-template.md; its shape is:

# Session Checkpoint — [date]
**Focus:** [focus area or "full session"]
**Token estimate before:** ~[estimate]k
**Token estimate after:** ~[estimate]k

## Decisions
- D: ...
## Current State
- ...
## Open Questions
- Q: ...
## Rejected Approaches
- X: ...
## Next Actions
1. ...

Fallback (if you can't run the script): write the file yourself in the assets/acc-template.md format, naming it docs/acc/NNN-YYYY-MM-DD-topic.md with the next NNN.

Step 4 — Verify nothing load-bearing was dropped

After compression, scan for:

• Any file path referenced in NEXT ACTIONS that isn't mentioned in CURRENT STATE (missing context)
• Any decision that depends on an assumption not captured (hidden dependency)
• Any blocker that was resolved mid-conversation but not moved to DECISIONS

If found, add the missing item to the appropriate dimension.

Rules

1. This is LOSSY compression — that's the point. Drop all exploratory chat, tool output, intermediate reasoning, and social exchange
2. Preserve exact version numbers, file paths, test counts, and branch names — these are the facts that prevent re-discovery
3. If HANDOFF.md exists and is current, reference it rather than duplicating: "See HANDOFF.md for full state"
4. The compressed output replaces the need to re-read the conversation — if someone couldn't continue working from the compression alone, it's incomplete
5. Never compress governing document citations (ADR-001A, ICS-001, REQ-004) — these are load-bearing references
6. Don't run ACC on momentum. If Step 0 says HANDOFF covers it, abort and surface the rubric finding to the user. Producing a low-leverage ACC trains the habit of running it everywhere — which dilutes the archive and makes the high-value entries harder to find later

Gotchas

Highest-signal failure points, accreted from real runs. Read before invoking — most apply to Mode A.

• Don't run ACC on momentum (the most common misuse). If Step 0's necessity check favors HANDOFF, abort and surface the finding. A low-leverage ACC dilutes the archive and buries the high-value entries — see Rule 6 and references/necessity-check.md.
• Scripts write to the current working directory, not a global path. Entries land in ./docs/acc/ of wherever Claude Code is running. If they show up in the wrong project, check the working directory before re-running — don't move files by hand. (Prefer one shared archive across projects? Pass --global to write/read ~/.claude/acc instead, overridable with $ACC_GLOBAL_DIR.)
• Windows: invoke scripts as python, not python3. The python3 alias usually resolves to the Microsoft Store shim, which fails silently or opens the Store. Use python "<skill-dir>/scripts/new_acc.py" ….
• Never rename archive files out of NNN-YYYY-MM-DD-topic order. Latest-ACC selection is a lexicographic sort on filename; off-convention names break find_latest_acc.py and Mode B. README.md is excluded by design — don't give it a number.
• git "dubious ownership" on FAT/exFAT or network shares. Mark the repo safe once: git config --global --add safe.directory <path> (or git -c safe.directory=<path> … for a single command).
• Every script-backed step has a manual fallback — use it, don't abort. If Python can't run: Mode B → glob docs/acc/*.md, skip README.md and _*.md files, take the lexicographically highest; Mode A → write the assets/acc-template.md shape yourself as docs/acc/NNN-YYYY-MM-DD-topic.md with the next NNN.

The README's Troubleshooting section carries longer-form fixes for the install/path issues above.

Bundled resources

This skill ships with helper files in its own directory (<skill-dir> = the folder containing this SKILL.md; Claude Code makes this path available when the skill runs). Only one install is active at a time, so substitute that install's absolute path.

File	Used in	Purpose
scripts/new_acc.py	Step 3 (Mode A)	Compute next NNN, seed archive README, render template, write docs/acc/NNN-YYYY-MM-DD-topic.md
scripts/find_latest_acc.py	Mode B step 2	Print the newest ACC path (glob + lexicographic sort, README excluded); non-zero if archive empty/missing
scripts/list_acc.py	(browsing)	Print the archive as a dated, focus-labeled index; --markdown for a README table
scripts/acc_session_start.py	(Mode B, automated)	SessionStart hook that auto-loads the latest ACC into a fresh session; exit-0-safe
scripts/acc_pre_compact.py	(Mode A, automated)	PreCompact hook that snapshots the raw transcript to docs/acc/_snapshots/ (gitignored, pruned) before compaction, and on auto-compaction nudges a checkpoint; exit-0-safe
assets/acc-template.md	Step 3	Canonical output skeleton with {{DATE}} / {{FOCUS}} / {{TOKENS_*}} tokens
assets/docs-acc-readme.md	(by new_acc.py)	README seed dropped into docs/acc/ on first run
assets/global-acc-readme.md	(by new_acc.py --global)	README seed dropped into the global archive on first run
assets/session-start-settings.json	(setup)	Example .claude/settings.json wiring the SessionStart hook
assets/pre-compact-settings.json	(setup)	Example .claude/settings.json wiring the PreCompact hook
references/necessity-check.md	Step 0	The 9-criterion ACC-vs-HANDOFF rubric; read on demand
references/example-acc.md	Step 1–2	Good vs bad worked example; read to calibrate the quality bar

Run scripts with python (Windows) or python3 (macOS/Linux). Scripts write docs/acc/ relative to the current working directory (the project), and locate their own assets/ relative to themselves — so they work from either install location. Every script-dependent step above has a manual fallback if execution isn't available.