Managing Context Window Skill
When to Use
- •Context is approaching token limits
- •User asks to summarize conversation history
- •Need to focus on specific task
- •Working with large files or codebases
What This Skill Does
- •Analyzes current context usage
- •Identifies non-essential information
- •Creates summaries of conversation history
- •Focuses context on current task
- •Prunes redundant or outdated information
Strategies
1. Summarize Previous Work
code
Summary of work so far: - Implemented activity recording service - Added GPS tracking functionality - Created activity list screen - Working on: activity detail view Current task: Add activity statistics calculation
2. Focus on Current Task
Keep only:
- •Current implementation goal
- •Relevant code files
- •Recent error messages
- •Specific questions to answer
3. Prune Redundant Information
- •Remove completed sub-tasks
- •Remove duplicate information
- •Remove outdated context
- •Remove exploratory messages
4. Use File References
Instead of pasting full file contents:
- •Reference file paths
- •Use Grep to find specific sections
- •Read specific line ranges
Implementation
typescript
// Use TodoWrite to track progress instead of comments
const todos = [
{ id: "1", content: "Implement activity recording", status: "completed" },
{ id: "2", content: "Add GPS tracking", status: "completed" },
{ id: "3", content: "Create activity detail view", status: "in_progress" },
];
// When switching tasks, update context
function switchTask(newTask: string) {
return {
task: newTask,
relevantFiles: getRelevantFiles(newTask),
summary: summarizeCompletedWork(),
};
}
Best Practices
- •Use TodoWrite for tracking
- •Reference files instead of pasting
- •Summarize completed work
- •Focus on current task
- •Remove outdated context
- •Keep error messages relevant
- •Use specific line ranges when reading