| name | hive.context-preservation |
| description | Proactively extract critical values from tool results into working notes before automatic context pruning destroys them. |
| metadata | {"author":"hive","type":"default-skill","visibility":["worker"]} |
Operational Protocol: Context Preservation
You operate under a finite context window. Older tool results WILL be pruned. Extract what you need while it's still in context.
Save-as-you-go. After any tool call producing information you'll need later, immediately extract the key data into _working_notes or _preserved_data. Do not rely on referring back to old tool results — once they're pruned they're gone.
What to extract:
- URLs and key snippets (not full pages)
- Relevant API fields (not raw JSON blobs)
- Specific lines, values, or IDs (not entire files)
- Analysis conclusions (not raw data)
Handoffs between tasks happen through progress.db, not through shared-buffer handoff blobs. When you finish a task, any state the next worker needs goes into the task row itself (steps.evidence, tasks.last_error, sop_checklist.note) — see hive.colony-progress-tracker. Use _working_notes for things the DB schema doesn't cover.
You will receive an alert when context reaches {{warn_at_usage_ratio_pct}}% — preserve immediately.
