strategic-compact

# Strategic Compact Skill Suggests manual `/compact` at strategic points in your workflow rather than relying on arbitrary auto-compaction. ## Why Strategic Compaction? Auto-compaction triggers at arbitrary points: - Often mid-task, losing important context - No awareness of logical task boundaries - Can interrupt complex multi-step operations Strategic compaction at logical boundaries: - **After exploration, before execution** - Compact research context, keep implementation plan - **After completing a milestone** - Fresh start for next phase - **Before major context shifts** - Clear exploration context before different task ## How It Works The `suggest-compact.sh` script runs on PreToolUse (Edit/Write) and: 1. **Tracks tool calls** - Counts tool invocations in session 2. **Threshold detection** - Suggests at configurable threshold (default: 50 calls) 3. **Periodic reminders** - Reminds every 25 calls after threshold ## Hook Setup Add to your `~/.claude/settings.json`: ```json { "hooks": { "PreToolUse": [{ "matcher": "tool == \"Edit\" || tool == \"Write\"", "hooks": [{ "type": "command", "command": "~/.claude/skills/strategic-compact/suggest-compact.sh" }] }] } } ``` ## Configuration Environment variables: - `COMPACT_THRESHOLD` - Tool calls before first suggestion (default: 50) ## Best Practices 1. **Compact after planning** - Once plan is finalized, compact to start fresh 2. **Compact after debugging** - Clear error-resolution context before continuing 3. **Don't compact mid-implementation** - Preserve context for related changes 4. **Read the suggestion** - The hook tells you *when*, you decide *if* ## Related - [The Longform Guide](https://x.com/affaanmustafa/status/2014040193557471352) - Token optimization section - Memory persistence hooks - For state that survives compaction