How do I install the Compact skill?

Run npx skillmds add majiayu000/compact 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 Compact safe to use?

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

Which AI agents work with Compact?

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 Compact free to use?

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

Who published Compact?

majiayu000 (@majiayu000) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Compact by majiayu000 — Agent Skill

Name: Compact
Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Author: majiayu000

File contents

Manual Context Save (Compact Workaround)

Why This Exists

VSCode and Cursor extensions have limited hook support (GitHub issue #15021). The PreCompact hook may not trigger automatically, leading to lost context. This skill provides manual control to save state before context overflow.

When to Use

Context warning shows 80%+ usage
Working in VSCode or Cursor extension
Before starting a new conversation
When auto-compact doesn't seem to work

Execution Steps

Step 1: Detect Environment

# Check current environment
source ~/.claude/hooks/detect-environment.sh 2>/dev/null && print_env_info || echo "Environment detection unavailable"

Step 2: Get Current Session ID

The session ID is needed to save context properly:

# Try to get session ID from state
SESSION_ID=$(cat ~/.ralph/state/current-session 2>/dev/null || echo "manual-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)")
echo "Session: $SESSION_ID"

Step 3: Extract and Save Context

# Run the pre-compact hook manually
export SESSION_ID="${SESSION_ID:-manual-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)}"

# Create input JSON for the hook
echo "{\"hook_event_name\":\"PreCompact\",\"session_id\":\"$SESSION_ID\",\"transcript_path\":\"\"}" | \
    ~/.claude/hooks/pre-compact-handoff.sh

echo ""
echo "✅ Context saved to:"
echo "   Ledger: ~/.ralph/ledgers/CONTINUITY_RALPH-$SESSION_ID.md"
echo "   Handoff: ~/.ralph/handoffs/$SESSION_ID/"

Step 4: Verify Save

# Show the saved ledger
echo "=== SAVED LEDGER ==="
head -30 ~/.ralph/ledgers/CONTINUITY_RALPH-$SESSION_ID.md 2>/dev/null || echo "Ledger not found"

Alternative: Use Ralph CLI

If the above doesn't work, use the Ralph CLI directly:

ralph compact

This wrapper command handles all the complexity automatically.

Post-Compact Actions

After saving context:

Start fresh: Use /clear or start a new conversation
Restore context: The SessionStart hook will auto-load the saved ledger
Verify restoration: Check that your objective is loaded

Recovery

If context was lost without saving:

# List recent ledgers
ralph ledger list

# Load a specific ledger
ralph ledger load <session-id>

# Search handoffs
ralph handoff search "keyword"

Troubleshooting

Hook not found

# Verify hooks exist
ls -la ~/.claude/hooks/pre-compact-handoff.sh
ls -la ~/.claude/hooks/detect-environment.sh

# If missing, sync from repo
ralph sync-global

Permission denied

# Make hooks executable
chmod +x ~/.claude/hooks/*.sh
chmod +x ~/.claude/scripts/*.py

Context extractor fails

# Test context extractor directly
python3 ~/.claude/scripts/context-extractor.py --project . --pretty

---name: compactdescription: Manually trigger context save when auto-compact fails in VSCode/Cursor extensions. Use when context is high and you need to preserve state before starting fresh.--- # Manual Context Save (Compact Workaround) ## Why This Exists VSCode and Cursor extensions have limited hook support (GitHub issue #15021). The `PreCompact` hook may not trigger automatically, leading to lost context. This skill provides manual control to save state before context overflow. ## When to Use - Context warning shows 80%+ usage - Working in VSCode or Cursor extension - Before starting a new conversation - When auto-compact doesn't seem to work ## Execution Steps ### Step 1: Detect Environment ```bash # Check current environment source ~/.claude/hooks/detect-environment.sh 2>/dev/null && print_env_info || echo "Environment detection unavailable" ``` ### Step 2: Get Current Session ID The session ID is needed to save context properly: ```bash # Try to get session ID from state SESSION_ID=$(cat ~/.ralph/state/current-session 2>/dev/null || echo "manual-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)") echo "Session: $SESSION_ID" ``` ### Step 3: Extract and Save Context ```bash # Run the pre-compact hook manually export SESSION_ID="${SESSION_ID:-manual-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)}" # Create input JSON for the hook echo "{\"hook_event_name\":\"PreCompact\",\"session_id\":\"$SESSION_ID\",\"transcript_path\":\"\"}" | \ ~/.claude/hooks/pre-compact-handoff.sh echo "" echo "✅ Context saved to:" echo " Ledger: ~/.ralph/ledgers/CONTINUITY_RALPH-$SESSION_ID.md" echo " Handoff: ~/.ralph/handoffs/$SESSION_ID/" ``` ### Step 4: Verify Save ```bash # Show the saved ledger echo "=== SAVED LEDGER ===" head -30 ~/.ralph/ledgers/CONTINUITY_RALPH-$SESSION_ID.md 2>/dev/null || echo "Ledger not found" ``` ## Alternative: Use Ralph CLI If the above doesn't work, use the Ralph CLI directly: ```bash ralph compact ``` This wrapper command handles all the complexity automatically. ## Post-Compact Actions After saving context: 1. **Start fresh**: Use `/clear` or start a new conversation 2. **Restore context**: The `SessionStart` hook will auto-load the saved ledger 3. **Verify restoration**: Check that your objective is loaded ## Recovery If context was lost without saving: ```bash # List recent ledgers ralph ledger list # Load a specific ledger ralph ledger load <session-id> # Search handoffs ralph handoff search "keyword" ``` ## Troubleshooting ### Hook not found ```bash # Verify hooks exist ls -la ~/.claude/hooks/pre-compact-handoff.sh ls -la ~/.claude/hooks/detect-environment.sh # If missing, sync from repo ralph sync-global ``` ### Permission denied ```bash # Make hooks executable chmod +x ~/.claude/hooks/*.sh chmod +x ~/.claude/scripts/*.py ``` ### Context extractor fails ```bash # Test context extractor directly python3 ~/.claude/scripts/context-extractor.py --project . --pretty ```

Frequently asked questions