Agent skill · writing content · aiskillstore
chat-compactor
Generate structured session summaries optimized for future AI agent consumption. Use when (1) ending a coding/debugging session, (2) user says "compact", "summarize session", "save context", or "wrap up", (3) context window is getting long and continuity matters, (4) before switching tasks or taking a break. Produces machine-readable handoff documents that let the next session start fluently without re-explaining.
Why this skill is useful
Generates structured markdown summaries that capture critical context and decisions, which the AI wouldn't reliably produce on its own.
What it needs
About 2k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-08-07. 405 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
Chat Compactor Generate structured summaries optimized for AI agent continuity across sessions. Why This Exists Human-written summaries and ad-hoc AI summaries lose critical context: Decision rationale gets lost (why X, not Y) Dead ends get forgotten (agent re-tries failed approaches) Implicit knowledge isn't captured (file locations, naming conventions, gotchas) State is unclear (what's done, what's pending, what's blocked) This skill produces agent-optimized handoff documents that prime the next session. Output Format Generate a markdown file with this structure: Workflow 1. Scan conversation for: decisions, outcomes, failures, file changes, blockers 2. Identify the "handoff moment" — what would a fresh agent need to continue? 3. Generate structured summary using format above 4. Save to file: session-[topic]-[date].md in project root or /home/claude/sessions/ Compaction Triggers Invoke this skill when: User says: "compact", "wrap up", "save session", "summarize for next time" Context window exceeds ~50% capacity and task is ongoing Before major context switches End of debugging/implementation session Quality Criteria Good compactions are: Scannable: Next agent gets orientation in <30 seconds Actionable: Clear next steps, not vague summaries Defensive: Dead ends documented to prevent re-exploration Minimal: No fluff, every line earns its tokens Anti-Patterns Avoid: Narrative prose ("First we tried X, then Y, then Z...") Redundant context (don't repeat what's in code comments) Vague summaries ("Made good progress on the feature") Missing failure documentation (most valuable part!) Example Trigger & Response User: "Let's wrap up, compact this session" Agent: 1. Reviews conversation for key decisions, outcomes, failures 2. Generates structured markdown per format above 3. Saves to session-[topic]-[date].md 4. Confirms: "Session compacted to session-auth-refactor-2025-01-06.md — ready for next time."
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills aiskillstore/chat-compactor