arc-compacting

name	arc-compacting
description	Guide manual context compaction to workflow phase boundaries. Use when deciding whether to compact now — compact at clean seams between phases rather than mid-task; the compact-suggester hook may route here as context grows.
category	memory
status	promoted

arc-compacting

Guide compaction decisions at logical workflow boundaries instead of letting auto-compaction fire mid-task. Compact at the right time to preserve context quality without losing critical state.

Core principle: Compact between phases (when state is persisted to files), not during phases (when context holds un-persisted decisions).

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• The compact-suggester hook fires a threshold notification
• You're transitioning between workflow phases (brainstorming → planning → implementation)
• A long session is accumulating stale context
• You've just saved deliverables to files and context is bulky

Decision Guide

Phase Transition	Compact?	Why
Exploration → planning	Yes	Research context is bulky; plan is the distilled output
Planning → implementation	Yes	DAG/tasks are in files; free up context for code