Strategic Compact
Installation
Copy the prompt below and send it to your AI assistant (e.g. Claude Code) — it will follow the instructions and install automatically.
Install the "Strategic Compact" skill by following the instructions at https://skill123.me/install/strategic-compact.
Run in your terminal — downloads and installs to ~/.claude/skills/.
curl -fsSL https://skill123.me/install/strategic-compact.sh | bash
Download the zip and extract it into your skills directory (e.g. ~/.claude/skills/), then restart your session.
⬇ Download v3.7.1 · 2 KBNot live-tested yet — this skill is rated on static analysis only.
About this skill
Solves a real Claude Code pain: auto-compaction firing mid-task. Triggers /compact at logical boundaries and injects a summary after, so you keep the thread.
Strategic Compact Skill
Suggests manual /compact at strategic points rather than relying on arbitrary auto-compaction.
Documentation
Solves a real Claude Code pain: auto-compaction firing mid-task. Triggers /compact at logical boundaries and injects a summary after, so you keep the thread.
Strategic Compact Skill
Suggests manual /compact at strategic points rather than relying on arbitrary auto-compaction.
Why Strategic Compaction?
Auto-compaction triggers at arbitrary points:
- Often mid-task, losing important context
- No awareness of logical task boundaries
- Can interrupt complex multi-step operations
Strategic compaction at logical boundaries:
- **After exploration, before execution** — Compact research, keep plan
- **After completing a milestone** — Fresh start for next phase
- **Before major context shifts** — Clear old context before different task
Focus-Aware Compaction (inspired by OpenClaw)
Blind compaction = blind discards. Focus-directed compaction = preserving key information.
**Usage**: Specify what to preserve when manually compacting.
Scenario: Completed 3 hours of debugging, now starting a new feature
✅ /compact preserve root cause analysis and fix approach, discard trial-and-error debugging
❌ /compact (blind compaction may discard root cause analysis)
**Common focus templates**:
| Scenario | Focus Directive |
|----------|----------------|
| After debugging | Preserve root cause and fix approach, discard trial-and-error |
| After planning | Preserve final plan and key decisions, discard alternative discussions |
| After code review | Preserve items to change, discard confirmed-OK sections |
| After strategy discussion | Preserve strategic decisions and metrics, discard brainstorming process |
| After multi-file edits | Preserve which files changed and why, discard file content details |
When to Trigger Compaction
| Signal | Action |
|--------|--------|
| Completed a full milestone | ✅ Good time to compact |
| Switching from exploration to execution | ✅ Good time to compact |
| Debugging complete, starting new feature | ✅ Good time to compact |
| In the middle of multi-step implementation | ❌ Do NOT compact |
| Still analyzing a problem | ❌ Do NOT compact |
| /ctx shows 60-70% consumed | 🟡 Consider compacting |
| /ctx observes ≥80% pressure | Save the current Lane, compact if supported, verify and continue |
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
View full documentation
1. **Compact with focus** — Always specify what to preserve, never compact blindly
2. **Write memory before compacting** — Save key information to memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md first
3. **Never compact mid-task** — Maintain complete context during multi-step implementations
4. **Pair with /ctx** — Use actual observations; ≥80% means save and reassess after compaction, not forced exit. Unknown occupancy remains unknown.
Pre-Compaction Protocol (MUSE — derived from LCM compact:before)
**MUST** execute in order before compaction:
1. **Persist**: Write current task progress to memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md
2. **Preserve recent instructions**: Save recent decisions, corrections and constraints; do not claim the client supports a protected/non-compactable zone unless its actual interface does.
3. **Extract key decisions**: Scan content about to be compacted, extract key decisions/data to memory
4. **Notify user**: Inform about upcoming compaction, list what will be preserved
> **Principle: Persist first, then compact. Never discard information without a backup.**
Post-Compaction Injection (MUSE — derived from OpenClaw postCompactionSections)
**MUST** re-internalize the following after compaction:
1. First 4 lines of CLAUDE.md (7 iron laws + priority chain)
2. Currently [/] in-progress tasks from task.md
3. Today's memory/ snapshot (just written)
4. Any focus-aware specified preservation items
> Compaction may omit information. Reconcile the selected role/Lane checkpoint and required evidence after it; do not reload all history or claim memory is lossless.
Score breakdown
Assessment methodology
Version history
— Imported from GitHub myths-labs/muse