# Ctxsift Install

> CtxShift is a skill that helps you focus on your tasks by reducing context clutter and enabling faster state recollections. \

- **Type:** Skill
- **Install:** `agentstack add skill-aakashh242-ctxsift-ctxsift`
- **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior
- **Seller:** [aakashH242](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/aakashh242)
- **Installs:** 0
- **Category:** [Agent Skills](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/agent-skills)
- **Latest version:** 0.1.0
- **License:** MIT
- **Upstream author:** [aakashH242](https://github.com/aakashH242)
- **Source:** https://github.com/aakashH242/ctxsift
- **Website:** https://ctxsift.dev

## Install

```sh
agentstack add skill-aakashh242-ctxsift-ctxsift
```

Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent.

## About

# Important Links:

1. Home page - https://ctxsift.dev
2. GitHub repo - https://github.com/aakashh242/ctxsift
3. Latest benchmark - https://ctxsift.dev/benchmark-viewer.html

# CtxSift Installation Process

You must perform the installation using the following steps -
1. Ensure pre-requisites are present. Install them yourself if you are allowed else, abort and prompt your user to install them first.
2. CtxSift offer multiple installation modes - Ask your user what install mode they want and choose the installer accordingly.
3. Check system requirements and compare with `requirement matrix` below. Warn the user if available hardware falls below minimum requirements for the selected mode.
4. Run `ctxsift doctor` yourself to verify installation was successful.
5. Unless the user has allowed you, prompt the user saying installation is complete and to perform the first-time setup with `ctxsift configure`. You can also point the user to https://ctxsift.dev/docs/getting-started/configure/ to learn more on how to configure.

## Prerequisites

- **Python ≥ 3.12** — [python.org/downloads](https://www.python.org/downloads/)
- **uv** — a fast Python package manager
  - Install: [docs.astral.sh/uv/getting-started/installation](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/getting-started/installation/)
- C compiler
  - Linux: [gcc](https://gcc.gnu.org/install/) or [clang](https://clang.llvm.org/get_started.html)
  - Windows: [Visual Studio](https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/downloads/) or [MinGW-w64](https://www.mingw-w64.org/downloads/)
  - MacOS: [Xcode](https://developer.apple.com/xcode/)

## Requirements Matrix

CtxSift uses a language model to compress tool outputs. This can be a model running locally or hosted remotely. See the requirements below for each scenario.

| Compression Mode | Minimum RAM | Minimum VRAM                                       | Comments                                                   |
|---|---|----------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|
| Local, no GPU | 8 GB | N/A                                                | Both embedding and compression models are loaded into RAM  |
| Local, with GPU | 2 GB | 8 GB                                               | Both embedding and compression models get loaded into VRAM |
| Remote, no GPU | 4 GB | N/A | Only the embedding model gets loaded into RAM              |
| Remote, with GPU | 2 GB | 4 GB                                               | Only the embedding model gets loaded into VRAM             |

## Install Commands

```bash 
# Install the base package - inference runs on CPU (Linux + Windows)
uv tool install ctxsift
# Install with LiteLLM included - use remotely hosted models for compression (Linux + Windows)
uv tool install "ctxsift[remote]"

# Install with GPU add-ons - local compression + embeddings on GPU (Linux)
uv tool install "ctxsift[gpu]" --default-index https://pypi.org/simple --index https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu124 --index-strategy unsafe-best-match
# Windows
uv tool install "ctxsift[gpu]" --with "torch @ https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu124/torch-2.6.0%2Bcu124-cp312-cp312-win_amd64.whl" --default-index https://pypi.org/simple --index https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu124 --index-strategy unsafe-best-match

# Enable quantization support on GPU (Linux)
uv tool install "ctxsift[gpu,quant]" --default-index https://pypi.org/simple --index https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu124 --index-strategy unsafe-best-match
# Windows
uv tool install "ctxsift[gpu,quant]" --with "torch @ https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu124/torch-2.6.0%2Bcu124-cp312-cp312-win_amd64.whl" --default-index https://pypi.org/simple --index https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu124 --index-strategy unsafe-best-match

# Install for remote compression plus local GPU embeddings
uv tool install "ctxsift[remote,gpu]" --default-index https://pypi.org/simple --index https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu124 --index-strategy unsafe-best-match
# Windows
uv tool install "ctxsift[remote,gpu]" --with "torch @ https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu124/torch-2.6.0%2Bcu124-cp312-cp312-win_amd64.whl" --default-index https://pypi.org/simple --index https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu124 --index-strategy unsafe-best-match

# Install the full package
uv tool install "ctxsift[all]" --default-index https://pypi.org/simple --index https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu124 --index-strategy unsafe-best-match
# Windows
uv tool install "ctxsift[all]" --with "torch @ https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu124/torch-2.6.0%2Bcu124-cp312-cp312-win_amd64.whl" --default-index https://pypi.org/simple --index https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu124 --index-strategy unsafe-best-match
```

#### NOTES

1. **GPU extras**: `ctxsift[gpu]` adds the Python-side GPU dependencies, but PyPI will often still resolve a CPU-only `torch` build by default. The PyTorch `--index` is added so `uv` can see CUDA-enabled wheels as candidates. On Windows, that may still not be enough, which is why the Windows examples force `torch` with `--with "torch @ ..."`. You can change the index URL to match the CUDA version you want.
2. **--index-strategy**: `uv` defaults to `first-index`, which stops on the first index that serves a given package name. That is safer against dependency-confusion issues, but it can reject valid mixed-index installs when the PyTorch index also exposes generic packages. `unsafe-best-match` is appropriate here because the examples use only trusted official sources: PyPI and the official PyTorch wheel index.
3. If `ctxsift` is not found after installation, run:

    ```bash frame="none"
    uv tool update-shell
    ```

Then restart your shell and try `ctxsift` again.

[Read more](https://ctxsift.dev/getting-started/installation/#pytorch-and-cuda-version-alignment)

If `ctxsift` is not found after installation, run:

```bash frame="none"
uv tool update-shell
```

Then restart your shell and try `ctxsift` again.

## First-time setup

Unless you are allowed explicitly, ask your user to run the below command to perform the first-time setup.
You can always recommend which model to use, based on the user's selected mode, by browsing the latest benchmark data from the link given above.

```bash frame="none"
ctxsift configure
```

## Verify and test your setup

```bash frame="none"
# Verify
ctxsift doctor

# Test compression
echo "alpha\nbeta\ngamma" | ctxsift compress --intent exact-lines "Return only the first line, no explanations."
```

# Troubleshooting

If you are having issues, read the docs at https://ctxsift.dev/docs

## Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

- **Author:** [aakashH242](https://github.com/aakashH242)
- **Source:** [aakashH242/ctxsift](https://github.com/aakashH242/ctxsift)
- **License:** MIT
- **Homepage:** https://ctxsift.dev

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.

## Pricing

- **Free** — Free

## Security capabilities

Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access:

- **Network access:** no
- **Filesystem access:** no
- **Shell / process execution:** no
- **Environment & secrets:** no
- **Dynamic code execution:** no

*"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.*


## Versions

- **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source.

## Links

- Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-aakashh242-ctxsift-ctxsift
- Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/aakashh242
- Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse

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