compactly and Claude Code compaction
Claude Code already offers built-in context management. You can run /compact when you choose, clear a session with /clear, and rely on Claude Code's own automatic context behavior. compactly adds a separate plugin workflow for checking likely task boundaries and carrying a handoff into the next task.
| Approach | Trigger | What it does | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
/compact |
You run the command | Summarizes the current conversation. | You decide when to compact and can provide instructions. |
| Claude Code automatic context handling | Managed by Claude Code as context approaches its limits | Keeps a long session usable through Claude Code's own compaction behavior. | It is not specifically triggered by compactly's task-boundary judge or handoff instructions. Exact behavior can vary by Claude Code version. |
/clear or a new session |
You run the command or start fresh | Leaves the previous conversation behind. | Use when continuity is unnecessary; project instructions and other configured memory can still apply. |
compactly auto |
Prompt-time judge at a configured context threshold, or a configured signal/cache timer | Can compact at a likely task boundary and ask Claude to preserve open work, decisions, paths, blockers, and the next prompt. | The judge can be wrong, uses model requests, and has no published general measured savings result. |
compactly suggest |
A configured boundary signal | Suggests /compactly; you choose whether to compact. |
Requires your decision and action. |
Claude Code's /compact also consumes usage because it reads and summarizes the conversation. Compaction is not automatically a cost saving: a summary request has a cost, and its effect depends on later turns, cache state, model, provider, and subscription. See Anthropic's current cost and context guidance.
Use the built-in controls when they fit your workflow. Try compactly when you want a task-boundary signal and an explicit handoff; choose suggest if you want to confirm before compaction, or off if you do not want compactly's automatic behavior. Keep Claude Code's own context safeguards available.
Sources and limits
This comparison describes compactly at source commit 847a09232932f8afffee75229f8704c280c600ec. The behavior of Claude Code changes over time; check the current Claude Code cost documentation and your installed version. The comparison is qualitative: no controlled benchmark or general savings result is being claimed.
View source on GitHub ยท Apache-2.0