Skill detail
principle-guard-the-context-window
Principle for guarding the finite context window: route large payloads to subagents, read selectively, keep frequently used content inline, and cap scope per phase.
Why we recommend it: Directly about guarding the context window and routing bulk to subagents — core token optimization.
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SKILL.md
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--- name: principle-guard-the-context-window description: "Apply when context is filling up: large outputs, long files, repeated reads, fan-out planning. Route bulk to subagents; keep summaries in the main thread, not raw payloads." disable-model-invocation: true --- # Guard the Context Window The context window is finite and non-renewable within a session. Every token should be worth its cost. **Why:** Context overflow degrades reasoning quality, creates compression artifacts, and halts progress. **Pattern:** - **Isolate large payloads.** Route verbose outputs, screenshots, and large documents to subagents. The main context gets summaries, not raw data. - **Don't read what you won't use.** Read selectively based on relevance. If a file isn't needed for the current task, skip it. - **Keep frequently used content inline.** Templates and references used on every invocation belong in the skill file, not in separate files that cost a read each time. - **Size phases and cap scope.** Limit files per phase, set turn budgets, account for mechanism costs.Read the full source on GitHub (opens external page)