cc · diff
git:20260814.a9214cc to git:20260908.2ec1bf8
14 added, 13 removed. Audit A to A.
---
name: cc
- description: >
- Hotkey alias for "compact the context": prints a READY-made `/compact <block>` line in a
- canonical handoff format so the operator can paste it as the next message and squeeze working
- memory without losing the thread. Trigger on "/cc", "compact", "finish via compact". Part of
- the short-alias family (/tt /rr /cc /1).
+ description: >-
+ Print a ready-made /compact line in a canonical handoff format, so the operator pastes it as
+ the next message and shrinks working memory without losing the thread. Use at the end of a
+ long session. Triggers: "/cc", "compact", "finish via compact".
license: MIT
---
# /cc — compact in one keystroke
**The pain:** a bare `/compact` does NOT read our format (measured: 0 out of 354 — everything fell
back to the default, #14160). The ONLY thing that works is pasting an inline block right after
`/compact`. The operator used to fetch that block by hand. Now `/cc` assembles it itself, already
enriched with this session, and hands over a ready-to-paste line.
**What this is NOT:** it is not `/retro`. Retro = the full end of a session (inventory of what was
built → routing rules to their homes → and only then the compact handoff). `/cc` is only the
compact handoff itself, lightweight, with no inventory: for when the operator just wants to shrink
the window at a task boundary rather than close the session.
## What to do when invoked
1. **Read the canonical template** — the single source of the format (never invent headings):
```bash
cat "$HOME/.claude/compact-prompt.md" # on Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.claude\compact-prompt.md
```
The skeleton = 7 headings: DECISIONS · TODO · NOW · PATHS AND VALUES · COUNTERS · OPEN · TOOLS AND CONTRACTS.
2. **Enrich the block with the CURRENT session** — never hand over an empty template. Walk the 7
headings and fill each one with the real, verbatim content of this chat (decisions + why, the
active error under NOW, exact paths/values/IDs, self-check counters + `/tt` status ✅ vs not
verified, what broke under OPEN). Rationales are the first thing to evaporate — preserve those
first.
3. **Emit the READY line** — it starts with `/compact `, followed by the enriched block, all inside
a single ```code``` block so the operator can copy it whole and paste it as the next message.
Plus one line above it: "➤ Copy everything in the block below and paste it as your next message."
4. **🧒 In plain words** ([[eli5-always]]): "I'm packing our memory into a short note so nothing gets
lost when the context is squeezed. Copy it and paste it."
## Boundaries
- The folder name is `cc`, so `/cc` works natively; "compact" and similar words are text triggers for the same skill. Case does not matter ([[commands-case-insensitive]]).
- The skill does NOT run the compact itself (that is a built-in command) and it sends/edits nothing — it only assembles text.
- When to fire it: at a task boundary around 60% of the window; don't wait for the auto-compact at 95% (that loses more).
- Don't confuse: `/tt` = test what was built · `/rr` = full retro · `/cc` = quick compact handoff · `/1` = resurrection after a crash.
---
- <!-- CONTACT-FOOTER -->
- ## About & contact
- Built and battle-tested at **Palo Alto AI Research Lab** — a fleet of Claude Code machines
- running 24/7 as a second brain and synthetic cofounder. Every skill here survived real
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+ <!--kit-footer-->
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- - 🧪 **Engineers: want to test-drive this setup?** Message me — I hand out free starter seeds to engineers who test and report back. Custom skill requests welcome.
+ ---
+
+ **Like this skill?** It is one of 100 in [second-brain-starter-kit](https://github.com/tonydzi/second-brain-starter-kit): the second brain we built for ourselves and run every day at Palo Alto AI Research Lab. Install the whole set with `npx skills add tonydzi/second-brain-starter-kit`. Everything is open source and free, so take what you need.
+
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+
+ Author: **Anton Dziatkovskii**, Palo Alto AI Research Lab. Telegram [@tonydzi](https://t.me/tonydzi) - WhatsApp [+1 341 222 9178](https://wa.me/13412229178) - X [@Tony_Stef_](https://x.com/Tony_Stef_)
+
+ **Engineers: want to test-drive this setup?** Message me. I hand out free starter seeds to engineers who test and report back, and custom skill requests are welcome.