eai-org Context checkup
Find what loads automatically into the session's context at startup, quantify it, and propose reversible trims ranked by payoff — shrink the startup context window by cutting what isn't worth its tokens. Read-only — measure and recommend; change settings only on explicit approval.
Mental model (spend attention top-down)
Cost hierarchy, biggest first:
- MCP tool schemas — large, but deferred by tool search. Only a problem if tool search is OFF.
- Always-on text — CLAUDE.md/AGENTS.md chain,
@imports, and skill/agent/command descriptions (every available one's description loads every session). - MCP server instructions — load per enabled server at startup; a chatty preamble can dwarf its tool names.
- MCP tool names — ~10 tokens each. Cheap; 30 names ≈ 300 tokens isn't worth a recommendation.
Rules: measure, never guess — wc/count, then attach a rough token figure to each finding.
Rank by tokens-saved × reversibility. Distinguish auto-loaded from lazy-linked (nested
AGENTS.md referenced from a parent are not loaded — don't flag them).
Tool-name counts, the skills/agents/commands lists, and tool-search status come from the session's system-reminders, not disk — read them from your own context.
Checklist
0. Verify tool search is on first. If ENABLE_TOOL_SEARCH is disabled, MCP schemas load eagerly
and every "names are cheap" conclusion flips. Check this before anything else.
1. Always-on docs. Measure the CLAUDE.md/AGENTS.md chain: project file + every parent dir up
to root + global ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md. Expand @import lines (recursive). wc -w each.
2. Descriptions (often the largest unexamined chunk). Skim the in-session lists of skills, subagent types, and slash commands — their descriptions are always loaded. Many rarely-used entries = standing cost.
3. MCP servers. From .mcp.json + settings, list enabled servers. Count tool names per
server; note any server with long instructions. Flag servers irrelevant to the user's work.
4. Enablement levers. Read ~/.claude/settings.json, project .claude/settings.json,
.claude/settings.local.json. Check enableAllProjectMcpServers, enabledMcpjsonServers,
enabledPlugins. Precedence: managed > local > project > user. Each plugin can pull in MCP servers,
skills, agents, hooks.
5. Memory. Size of MEMORY.md index.
Output
A short sizes table (source → ≈ tokens → auto-loaded? → relevant to user's work?), then a prioritized action list. For each action give the exact setting/file edit, the rough savings, and how to reverse it (prefer per-session toggles). Skip anything under ~a few hundred tokens unless asked to be exhaustive. Then ask before editing.
Useful probes
# always-on doc chain (run from project root; also check parent dirs + ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md)
for f in CLAUDE.md AGENTS.md ../CLAUDE.md ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md; do [ -f "$f" ] && wc -w "$f"; done
# enabled MCP + settings
cat .mcp.json; cat .claude/settings.json .claude/settings.local.json ~/.claude/settings.json 2>/dev/null