| name | safe-compact |
| description | Save session state and recommend starting fresh instead of compacting. A safer alternative to lossy compaction — compaction discards context permanently with no recovery. Part of claude-cost-helpers (compact-gamble). |
Safe Compact
Compaction is a gamble. Claude decides what to keep and what to discard — and it does not tell you what it dropped. Before you let that happen, use this command to save your session and consider starting fresh instead.
What this does
- Runs the full
/save-session flow to capture the current session into ~/.claude/sessions/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-session.md
- Prints a recommendation with the path of the saved file
- Explains the economics so you can make an informed choice
Step 1: Save the session
Run /save-session now. Follow its process completely — gather context, write all sections, show the file to the user for confirmation.
Step 2: After saving, print this recommendation
Session saved to ~/.claude/sessions/<filename> — starting fresh is usually
cheaper than compacting. Run `/resume-session` in a new session to continue.
Step 3: Explain the economics
Explain the tradeoff clearly:
What compaction does: Compaction summarizes your current session context and continues the same session on top of that summary. Claude decides what mattered. The original context is gone — replaced by a compressed version of it. This is lossy and irreversible.
What starting fresh does: You get a clean session with a cold (but small) cache. The handoff file carries the essentials: what worked, what didn't, the exact next step. You pay a small re-cache cost on the first message, then run cheaply on a lean context for the rest of the session.
The math: A long, compacted session that keeps re-caching a large summary costs more per message than a fresh session on a focused handoff. Compaction keeps a stale session alive; starting fresh resets the meter.
When compaction might be right: If you are in the middle of something that genuinely cannot survive a context break — mid-tool-call, mid-refactor with unsaved state — compaction may be the only option. Otherwise, fresh is almost always cheaper.
Dependency
This command depends on /save-session from Helper 01 (Idle Tax). If /save-session is not installed, install it first: cd idle-tax && ./install.sh
Companion Hook
This skill is part of the Compact Gamble helper (compact-gamble). The companion hook (pre-compact-backup.sh) automatically saves a marker and prompts Claude to preserve context before any compaction event. Install the hook for automatic protection: cd compact-gamble && ./install.sh
