5.4 Compaction¶

Maturity: Emerging (summarization works; 'context rot' is a newer, important finding) · Grounding: research · Last reviewed: 2026-06

Compaction and the window: summarize and prune the context so it stays useful, because a full window isn't a healthy one.

Also called: context compression, summarization, context-window management.

Stub: scaffolding, not finished writing · planned for a later release. The skeleton below shows the beats this chapter will hit. Contributions welcome.

1. Why you'd reach for it¶

The problem, what breaks without it, and when you need it. To be written.

2. What it actually is¶

A crisp definition, the maturity call argued with cited evidence, and how it differs from its neighbours. To be written.

3. How to do it¶

Code included from a tested file in listing-studio/, so the prose can't drift from working code. To be written.

4. Gotchas¶

The real costs and when not to, feeding the Anti-Patterns Catalog. To be written.

5. In short¶

A weighted recommendation: what you would actually do. To be written.

Sources¶

Citations added as the chapter is written. Every non-obvious claim gets a footnote.