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:
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Often mid-task, losing important context
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No awareness of logical task boundaries
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Can interrupt complex multi-step operations
Strategic compaction at logical boundaries:
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After exploration, before execution - Compact research context, keep implementation plan
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After completing a milestone - Fresh start for next phase
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Before major context shifts - Clear exploration context before different task
How It Works
The suggest-compact.sh script runs on PreToolUse (Edit/Write) and:
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Tracks tool calls - Counts tool invocations in session
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Threshold detection - Suggests at configurable threshold (default: 50 calls)
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Periodic reminders - Reminds every 25 calls after threshold
Hook Setup
Add to your ~/.claude/settings.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
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Compact after planning - Once plan is finalized, compact to start fresh
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Compact after debugging - Clear error-resolution context before continuing
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Don't compact mid-implementation - Preserve context for related changes
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Read the suggestion - The hook tells you when, you decide if
Related
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The Longform Guide - Token optimization section
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Memory persistence hooks - For state that survives compaction