| name | context-hygiene |
| description | Reference for Claude Code context management. Use /by-the-way for side questions, /fork for path exploration, and context:fork in skills for isolated execution. Trigger on "context is getting large", "session feels slow", "Claude forgot what we were doing", "how do I manage context". |
Context Hygiene — 3 Shields
Three techniques for keeping Claude Code sessions focused and performant.
Use these proactively — context bloat is gradual and invisible until quality degrades.
Shield 1: /by-the-way (Side Questions)
For quick lookups that don't deserve main context space:
- "What was that Calendly link?"
- "How many slides in the last deck?"
- "What's the standard meeting length?"
Usage: Type /by-the-way then your question. Answer returns without polluting
the main conversation thread.
Best for: Static data retrieval, FAQ-style questions, quick lookups from CLAUDE.md
or project files.
Shield 2: /fork (Path Exploration)
When you want to try a different approach without risking your current progress:
- "Let me try a completely different design"
- "What if we used a different tech stack?"
- "Create version 2 from scratch"
Usage: Type /fork — creates a new conversation branch with full history.
Returns a resume command to get back to the original conversation.
Best for: A/B testing approaches, exploring risky changes, version comparison.
Pro tip: Run multiple forks in parallel terminal sessions for simultaneous exploration.
Shield 3: context: fork (Skill Isolation)
Add context: fork to any SKILL.md frontmatter to run heavy skills in an
isolated context window. See the context-fork-guide skill for full details.
When Context Gets Large
Signs your context is bloated:
- Slower responses
- Claude "forgets" earlier decisions
- Suggestions become less relevant
Recovery:
/fork to start fresh with history preserved/compact to summarize and compress context- For future sessions: apply
context: fork to heavy skills proactively
Context Budget Rule of Thumb
- Light session (single file edits, Q&A): 50K-100K tokens, no shields needed
- Medium session (multi-file feature work): 100K-300K tokens, use /by-the-way for side queries
- Heavy session (research + build): 300K+, fork skills and /fork for exploration branches
Source
Extracted from: 3 Claude Code Features You'll Wish You Knew Sooner by Mark Kashef (AI Automation Society), March 19, 2026.
