How do I install the Context Fork Guide skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add m2ai-portfolio/context-fork-guide in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Context Fork Guide safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Context Fork Guide?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Context Fork Guide free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Context Fork Guide?

m2ai-portfolio (@m2ai-portfolio) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Context Fork Guide by m2ai-portfolio

Name: Context Fork Guide
Author: m2ai-portfolio

Context Fork Guide

Use when creating or modifying skills that do heavy research, search, or multi-tool work. Adds context:fork to isolate skill execution in a separate context window, keeping the main session clean. Trigger on "keep context clean", "skill is bloating my context", "run this in a separate window", or when building any research/search skill.

File contents

Context Fork Guide — Isolate Heavy Skills

When building skills that perform heavy operations (vault search, codebase exploration, multi-file analysis, research), add context: fork to the frontmatter. This runs the skill in a separate context window so only the final summary returns to your main session.

When to Fork

Fork when the skill will:

Read more than 5 files
Run multiple searches or grep operations
Pull external data (web, API, database)
Perform exploratory work where dead-ends are expected

Do NOT fork when:

The skill modifies files in the current project (needs main context)
The skill is conversational (needs prior chat history)
The output is a single lookup (overhead not worth it)

How to Apply

Add one line to any SKILL.md frontmatter:

---
name: your-skill-name
description: Your skill description
context: fork
---

That's it. The skill now runs in an isolated context window.

The Pattern: Research Skill with Fork

---
name: deep-research
description: Search vault, codebase, and web for context on a topic.
context: fork
---

# Deep Research

1. Search Obsidian vault for notes matching the topic
2. Grep the codebase for related code patterns
3. Web search for current best practices
4. Return a structured summary:
   - Key findings (bullet points)
   - Relevant file paths
   - Recommended next steps

Output ONLY the summary. All intermediate search results stay in the forked context.

Verification

After adding context: fork to a skill:

Run /context to check token count before invoking the skill
Invoke the skill
Run /context again — token increase should be minimal (summary only)
Compare with running the same skill without the fork line

Existing Skills to Consider Forking

Review /home/user/.claude/skills/ for skills that do heavy search or research. Candidates: any skill that reads multiple files, runs searches, or pulls external data. Add context: fork to their frontmatter and test.

Source

Extracted from: 3 Claude Code Features You'll Wish You Knew Sooner by Mark Kashef (AI Automation Society), March 19, 2026.

---name: context-fork-guidedescription: Use when creating or modifying skills that do heavy research, search, or multi-tool work. Adds context:fork to isolate skill execution in a separate context window, keeping the main session clean. Trigger on "keep context clean", "skill is bloating my context", "run this in a separate window", or when building any research/search skill.---# Context Fork Guide — Isolate Heavy SkillsWhen building skills that perform heavy operations (vault search, codebase exploration,multi-file analysis, research), add `context: fork` to the frontmatter. This runs theskill in a separate context window so only the final summary returns to your main session.## When to ForkFork when the skill will:- Read more than 5 files- Run multiple searches or grep operations- Pull external data (web, API, database)- Perform exploratory work where dead-ends are expectedDo NOT fork when:- The skill modifies files in the current project (needs main context)- The skill is conversational (needs prior chat history)- The output is a single lookup (overhead not worth it)## How to ApplyAdd one line to any SKILL.md frontmatter:```yaml---name: your-skill-namedescription: Your skill descriptioncontext: fork---```That's it. The skill now runs in an isolated context window.## The Pattern: Research Skill with Fork```yaml---name: deep-researchdescription: Search vault, codebase, and web for context on a topic.context: fork---``````markdown# Deep Research1. Search Obsidian vault for notes matching the topic2. Grep the codebase for related code patterns3. Web search for current best practices4. Return a structured summary: - Key findings (bullet points) - Relevant file paths - Recommended next stepsOutput ONLY the summary. All intermediate search results stay in the forked context.```## VerificationAfter adding `context: fork` to a skill:1. Run `/context` to check token count before invoking the skill2. Invoke the skill3. Run `/context` again — token increase should be minimal (summary only)4. Compare with running the same skill without the fork line## Existing Skills to Consider ForkingReview /home/user/.claude/skills/ for skills that do heavy search or research.Candidates: any skill that reads multiple files, runs searches, or pulls external data.Add `context: fork` to their frontmatter and test.## SourceExtracted from: [3 Claude Code Features You'll Wish You Knew Sooner](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iALzJyvgCoM) by Mark Kashef (AI Automation Society), March 19, 2026.

Frequently asked questions