Zate Fresh Start
Save the current devloop plan state for resuming after a context reset. You do the work directly.
Step 1: Read Current Plan
Use the Read tool to read .devloop/plan.md.
If no plan exists, tell user to run /devloop first.
Step 2: Find Current Task
Identify the next pending task (first - [ ] in the plan).
Step 3: Save State
Write to .devloop/next-action.json:
{
"task": "Task X.Y: Description",
"phase": "Current Phase Name",
"notes": "Any context about work in progress",
"saved_at": "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM"
}
Step 4: Confirm
Tell user:
State saved to .devloop/next-action.json
Next steps:
1. Run /clear to reset context
2. Run /devloop:run to resume work
Tip: Before doing a full /devloop:fresh + /clear, try pressing Esc+Esc first. This triggers partial summarization which compresses your context without losing state — often enough to keep working without a restart.
Note: The next-action.json file is consumed (deleted) when /devloop:run runs.
Token Efficiency & Fresh Threshold
The default fresh_threshold is 10 tasks. However, token-heavy workloads exhaust session context faster and benefit from a lower threshold.
Recommended thresholds by workload:
| Workload | Recommended fresh_threshold |
Why |
|---|---|---|
| Sequential tasks (default) | 10 | One agent at a time, moderate context growth |
| Swarm (parallel workers) | 5-7 | Each spawn adds its full context; N parallel spawns = N× context cost |
Large token_budget (8000+) |
5 | Heavy context per task exhausts budget sooner |
| 1M context model | 25-50 | Much larger budget; fresh restarts are less urgent |
| Epic phases (run-epic) | 10 (default) | Phases run inline like /devloop:run; pause at phase boundaries for /clear if context is heavy |
When to lower the threshold:
- Running
/devloop:run-swarmwith 5+ concurrent workers per batch - Using a high
tokens.token_budget(>8000) in local.md - Experiencing slow responses or context warnings before completing the plan
When to raise the threshold:
- Using a 1M-context model (configure
fresh_threshold: 25or higher in.devloop/local.md) - Sequential tasks with small, focused file changes
Configure in .devloop/local.md:
---
fresh_threshold: 7 # Lower for swarm workloads
context_threshold: 70 # Exit ralph loop at this context %
tokens:
token_budget: 4000 # Context per task affects how fast budget fills
---