# Strategic Compact

> Suggests manual context compaction at logical intervals to preserve context through task phases rather than arbitrary auto-compaction.

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

## Install

```sh
agentstack add skill-oguzsh-claudey-strategic-compact
```

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

## About

# Strategic Compact Skill

Suggests manual `/compact` at strategic points in your workflow rather than relying on arbitrary auto-compaction.

## When to Activate

- Running long sessions that approach context limits (200K+ tokens)
- Working on multi-phase tasks (research → plan → implement → test)
- Switching between unrelated tasks within the same session
- After completing a major milestone and starting new work
- When responses slow down or become less coherent (context pressure)

## 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 context, keep implementation plan
- **After completing a milestone** — Fresh start for next phase
- **Before major context shifts** — Clear exploration context before different task

## How It Works

The `suggest-compact.sh` script runs on PreToolUse (Edit/Write) and:

1. **Tracks tool calls** — Counts tool invocations in session
2. **Threshold detection** — Suggests at configurable threshold (default: 50 calls)
3. **Periodic reminders** — Reminds every 25 calls after threshold

## Hook Setup

Add to your `~/.claude/settings.json`:

```json
{
	"hooks": {
		"PreToolUse": [
			{
				"matcher": "Edit",
				"hooks": [
					{
						"type": "command",
						"command": "\"${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/bin/claudey\" suggest-compact"
					}
				]
			},
			{
				"matcher": "Write",
				"hooks": [
					{
						"type": "command",
						"command": "\"${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/bin/claudey\" suggest-compact"
					}
				]
			}
		]
	}
}
```

## Configuration

Environment variables:

- `COMPACT_THRESHOLD` — Tool calls before first suggestion (default: 50)

## Compaction Decision Guide

Use this table to decide when to compact:

| Phase Transition          | Compact? | Why                                                             |
| ------------------------- | -------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Research → Planning       | Yes      | Research context is bulky; plan is the distilled output         |
| Planning → Implementation | Yes      | Plan is in TodoWrite or a file; free up context for code        |
| Implementation → Testing  | Maybe    | Keep if tests reference recent code; compact if switching focus |
| Debugging → Next feature  | Yes      | Debug traces pollute context for unrelated work                 |
| Mid-implementation        | No       | Losing variable names, file paths, and partial state is costly  |
| After a failed approach   | Yes      | Clear the dead-end reasoning before trying a new approach       |

## What Survives Compaction

Understanding what persists helps you compact with confidence:

| Persists                           | Lost                                     |
| ---------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| CLAUDE.md instructions             | Intermediate reasoning and analysis      |
| TodoWrite task list                | File contents you previously read        |
| Memory files (`~/.claude/memory/`) | Multi-step conversation context          |
| Git state (commits, branches)      | Tool call history and counts             |
| Files on disk                      | Nuanced user preferences stated verbally |

## Best Practices

1. **Compact after planning** — Once plan is finalized in TodoWrite, compact to start fresh
2. **Compact after debugging** — Clear error-resolution context before continuing
3. **Don't compact mid-implementation** — Preserve context for related changes
4. **Read the suggestion** — The hook tells you _when_, you decide _if_
5. **Write before compacting** — Save important context to files or memory before compacting
6. **Use `/compact` with a summary** — Add a custom message: `/compact Focus on implementing auth middleware next`

## Related

- Memory persistence hooks — For state that survives compaction
- `continuous-learning` skill — Extracts patterns before session ends

## Source & license

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

- **Author:** [oguzsh](https://github.com/oguzsh)
- **Source:** [oguzsh/claudey](https://github.com/oguzsh/claudey)
- **License:** MIT

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-oguzsh-claudey-strategic-compact
- Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/oguzsh
- Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse

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