a4967df815
Conventions, community best practices research (Sept 2025 - March 2026), and prioritized improvement backlog for Claude Code workflows. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
39 lines
2.1 KiB
Markdown
39 lines
2.1 KiB
Markdown
# Session & Context Management
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## Why This Matters
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Context is the most precious resource in a Claude Code session. The 200k token window seems large but fills fast — especially with MCP tools, long files, and multi-step tasks. Community consensus: managing context deliberately is a 2-3x productivity multiplier.
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## Current State
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- No explicit context management practices documented
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- Auto-memory system is configured (built-in)
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- No compaction hooks
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## Key Practices
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### Session Hygiene
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- **Use `/clear` between unrelated tasks.** A fresh session costs ~20k tokens (10% of budget), leaving ~180k for work. Polluted context from failed approaches actively degrades output quality.
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- **After two failed corrections, `/clear` and start fresh.** Context is now polluted with failed approaches. Write a better initial prompt instead.
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- **One task per session.** The "kitchen sink session" (start task A, ask about B, return to A) is a documented anti-pattern.
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### Context Budgeting
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- **Use `/context` to audit token usage.** MCP tools consume context even when unused. Browser automation tools alone can eat 8-30% of available context.
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- **Remove unused MCP servers** from settings when not actively needed.
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- **Compact proactively at 60-70% usage** — don't wait for auto-compact.
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### Extended Thinking
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- **Only `ultrathink` activates extended thinking** as of Claude Code v2.0.0. Previous keywords like "think" or "think hard" no longer work.
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- Use `ultrathink` for complex reasoning tasks, architectural decisions, and debugging subtle issues.
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### Compaction Strategy
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- Default reserves 32k tokens (22.5% of 200k) for auto-compact buffer.
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- Setting `CLAUDE_CODE_MAX_OUTPUT_TOKENS` to 64k increases the buffer to ~40%.
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- **PreCompact hook** (see hooks-and-automation.md) saves transcript before compaction.
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- Pair with auto-memory: gradual learning via memory, emergency snapshots via PreCompact hooks.
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### Handoff Between Sessions
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- Before ending a long session, create a handoff document: goals, progress, blockers, next steps.
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- A `/handoff` or `/catchup` skill (see skills-and-progressive-disclosure.md) automates this.
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- "Context is like milk — keep it fresh and condensed."
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