AI agent skill · by @michael-denyer

Principle Guard The Context Window

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.

Archived 2026-10-23 · Source updated 2026-10-04 · License: MIT. Check the original repository for the latest version.

SKILL.md instructions

# 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.
- **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.