Check Context

Analyze the current context window state and provide recommendations for optimization. This helps identify when context is becoming bloated and action is needed.

Usage

/check-context

What Gets Analyzed

1. Current Context Size - Estimated token usage
2. Context Composition - What's consuming tokens
3. Health Assessment - Whether action is needed
4. Optimization Options - Available remediation

Context Health Thresholds

Usage	Status	Action
< 50%	HEALTHY	No action needed
50-75%	MONITOR	Consider /compact soon
75-85%	WARNING	Run /compact or /clear
> 85%	CRITICAL	Immediate action required

Context Composition (Typical)

Claude Code's context typically includes:

Component	Typical Size	Notes
System prompt	15-25k tokens	Base instructions
CLAUDE.md files	5-15k tokens	Memory files
Loaded skills	1-5k tokens	Active skills
Conversation history	Variable	Grows with turns
Tool results	Variable	Can be large
File contents	Variable	From Read operations

Workflow

Step 1: Estimate Context Usage

Note: Exact context usage is internal to Claude Code. This command provides estimates based on observable factors:

Factors to consider:
- Conversation length (turns)
- Recent file reads
- Tool output volume
- Loaded skills/memory

Step 2: Assess Health

Based on observable signals:

Healthy Indicators:

• Quick response times
• No truncation warnings
• Accurate recall of early context

Warning Indicators:

• Slower responses
• Occasional memory gaps
• Auto-compact messages appearing

Critical Indicators:

• Very slow responses
• Frequent context rot
• Truncation warnings
• Failed operations

Step 3: Provide Recommendations

Context Window Analysis
=======================

Estimated Status: {HEALTHY | MONITOR | WARNING | CRITICAL}

Observable Indicators:
  Conversation turns: {count}
  Recent file reads: {count} files
  Tool invocations: {count}
  Skills loaded: {list}

Assessment:
  {description of current state}

Recommendations:
  {prioritized actions}

Available Commands:
  /clear    - Complete context reset (nuclear option)
  /compact  - Intelligent summarization (preserves key info)
  /cost     - View token usage and costs

Tips for Context Management:
  - Use /clear between major task switches
  - Prefer focused, specific queries over broad exploration
  - Let Claude use sub-agents for large operations
  - Break large tasks into smaller sessions

Example Output

Healthy Context

Context Window Analysis
=======================

Estimated Status: HEALTHY

Observable Indicators:
  Conversation turns: 8
  Recent file reads: 3 files
  Tool invocations: 12
  Skills loaded: 2 (docs-management, skill-development)

Assessment:
  Context appears healthy. Responses are quick and
  accurate. No signs of degradation.

Recommendations:
  No action needed. Continue as normal.

Tips:
  - Current session is efficient
  - Consider /clear before starting a new major task

Warning State

Context Window Analysis
=======================

Estimated Status: WARNING

Observable Indicators:
  Conversation turns: 47
  Recent file reads: 23 files
  Tool invocations: 156
  Skills loaded: 5

Assessment:
  Context is getting full. You may notice:
  - Slightly slower responses
  - Occasional gaps in recalling earlier context
  - Auto-compaction may trigger soon

Recommendations:
  1. Run /compact to summarize and free space
  2. Or run /clear if starting a new task
  3. Save important context to a temp file first

Warning Signs to Watch:
  - If responses slow further, act immediately
  - Watch for truncation or "I don't recall" responses

Critical State

Context Window Analysis
=======================

Estimated Status: CRITICAL

Observable Indicators:
  Conversation turns: 89
  Recent file reads: 45 files
  Tool invocations: 312
  Skills loaded: 7
  Auto-compact triggered: 3 times

Assessment:
  Context is near capacity. Significant degradation likely:
  - Very slow responses expected
  - Poor recall of earlier context
  - Risk of failed operations

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED:

  Option 1 (Preserve Progress):
    1. Document current task state to file
    2. Run /compact
    3. Resume with focused context

  Option 2 (Clean Start):
    1. Run /clear
    2. Reload only essential context
    3. Continue with fresh context

  Option 3 (New Session):
    1. Note session ID for /resume if needed
    2. Start new Claude Code session
    3. Fresh 200k token context

Notes

• This command provides estimates - exact token counts are internal
• Observable signals are good proxies for context health
• When in doubt, /compact is safer than continuing
• Sub-agents help by isolating context-heavy operations