henriquescastilho Context Optimizer
Manage your context window and token budget effectively.
Quick Diagnosis
- Run
/contextto check current usage - If > 70% → compact now before it degrades
- If > 90% → you're in the "dumb zone", compact immediately
Optimization Strategies
Immediate
| Action | Saves | When |
|---|---|---|
/compact |
30-50% context | At task boundaries |
| Disable unused MCPs | ~5% per MCP | When switching domains |
| Use subagents for exploration | Keeps main context clean | Heavy search/read tasks |
Fresh session via /resume |
100% reset | When starting unrelated work |
Configuration
Set proactive auto-compaction:
{
"env": {
"CLAUDE_AUTOCOMPACT_PCT_OVERRIDE": "50"
}
}
MCP Audit
Keep <10 MCPs enabled, <80 tools total. Each MCP adds overhead to every request.
/mcp # List active servers
# Disable what you're not using
Prompt Engineering for Token Efficiency
- Scope your prompts: "In src/auth/, fix the login bug"
- Provide constraints: "Don't modify the middleware"
- Give acceptance criteria: "Should return 429 after 5 attempts"
- Avoid vague prompts: "Fix the code" (forces Claude to read everything)
Subagent Delegation
Heavy operations that generate lots of output should go to subagents:
- Test suite output → subagent
- Large file exploration → subagent
- Documentation generation → subagent
- Log analysis → subagent
The main session stays clean while subagents handle the volume.
Context Budget Planning
| Phase | Target Usage | Action If Over |
|---|---|---|
| Planning | < 20% | Keep plans concise |
| Implementation | < 60% | Compact between files |
| Testing | < 80% | Delegate to subagent |
| Review | < 90% | Start fresh session |
CLAUDE.md Optimization
- Root CLAUDE.md: < 60 lines ideal, < 150 max
- Move package-specific info to package-level CLAUDE.md
- Move personal preferences to CLAUDE.local.md
- Remove obvious or rapidly-changing information
When Context Is Degraded
Signs:
- Claude repeats itself or forgets earlier context
- Responses become generic or lose project-specific knowledge
- Tool calls start failing for reasons that worked earlier
Fix:
- Manual
/compact - If still bad: new session with
/resume - For recurring issues: reduce CLAUDE.md size, disable MCPs