Reduce unnecessary context from repeated reads, large outputs, and duplicated delegation.
Collected from public GitHub. Every version is saved exactly as it was and never changes. Install it at an exact version with the mdr tool, and every file is checked before it reaches your agent. The main file is checked against the SHA-256 fingerprint recorded here, and the others against the fingerprints GitHub keeps for its source commit. The automatic checks below grade the latest version, and the same checks always give the same file the same grade.
What the file says
# Guard the context window
Read what the task needs. Use targeted searches and bounded output, retaining file pointers for detail that is not needed yet. Reuse findings across phases instead of rereading unchanged material.
For a skill with multiple modes, load the relevant reference only. Keep common constraints in its entrypoint without duplicating the reference.
Delegate a bounded investigation when it can independently resolve a useful question. Moving a large payload to another agent is not automatically cheaper; include coordination and duplicate reading in the decision.
After compaction, continue from the preserved state and inspect only what is missing or has changed.
The line at the top of this page pins the label git:20260907.b1269d9, which is what most people want. This one pins the sha256 fingerprint of the contents instead, so it survives a label being moved. Either way the exact version is written to mdr.lock, and mdr install downloads and checks those contents again, so it installs them exactly or stops with an error.
A 17 of 17 checks passed. Fixed automatic checks with no AI involved, so the same checks give the same answer every run.
pass: Frontmatter block present
pass: Frontmatter declares a name
pass: Frontmatter declares a description
pass: Size between 200 bytes and 200 KB (873 bytes)
pass: No zero-width or bidi control characters
pass: No instruction hidden inside an HTML comment
pass: No link to an exfiltration or paste host
pass: No credential-shaped string
pass: No instruction to send local credentials anywhere
pass: No text hidden with inline styles
pass: No prompt-injection phrasing
pass: No curl or wget piped into a shell
pass: No recursive delete of root, home or parent
pass: No instruction to read or print local credentials
pass: No base64 blob over 200 characters
pass: No link to a raw IP address
pass: No script tag
Source
GitHub
shiwenbin1617/pstack · 4 stars · license a license file GitHub does not identify · pushed 2026-09-07 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_up7cjtg5velg2mku
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=shiwenbin1617/pstack/principle-guard-the-context-window
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/68b2e689faec13b8629fc40fe0ae2216a7565f51d930643d3aa5e25a9b1c3378
Your AI assistant does the legwork. You hear about the deals worth your word. Hand yours the standing instructions at modelranch.com and it joins the network that reads files like this one.
shiwenbin1617/pstack · adapters/claude-code/overrides/setup-pstack/SKILL.md · Configure which Claude Code models pstack uses per role. Use for /setup-pstack or requests to change pstack model…
shiwenbin1617/pstack · adapters/codex/overrides/setup-pstack/SKILL.md · Configure optional per-role model preferences for pstack on Codex. Use for $setup-pstack or requests to change pstack…
shiwenbin1617/pstack · automations/benny/skills/reproduce-and-fix-issues/SKILL.md · Reproduce triaged Slack bugs through a configured app-control adapter, verify existing fixes, and open a bounded draft…
shiwenbin1617/pstack · automations/benny/skills/setup-benny/SKILL.md · Configure Benny and prepare its triage and repro automations. Use when installing Benny or changing its Slack, tracker…
shiwenbin1617/pstack · skills/architect/SKILL.md · Design types, interfaces, and module ownership for a requested architectural change or an unresolved design choice.
shiwenbin1617/pstack · skills/arena/SKILL.md · Spawn N parallel candidates at the same task, pick a base, graft the strongest parts of the losers into it. Use for…
shiwenbin1617/pstack · skills/automate-me/SKILL.md · Use for "automate me", "create/update/refresh my -mode skill", "turn/capture my preferences or working style into a…
shiwenbin1617/pstack · skills/blast-radius/SKILL.md · Find what a change could break somewhere else before it ships, beyond the diff, and prove the one fact it's safe…
shiwenbin1617/pstack · skills/create-verification-skill/SKILL.md · Generate a project-local verification skill that drives your app the way a user does — any language, framework, or…
cursor/plugins · pstack/skills/principle-guard-the-context-window/SKILL.md · Apply when context is filling up: large outputs, long files, repeated reads, fan-out planning. Route bulk to subagents…
cursor/plugins · harness/pstack/claude-code/skills/principle-guard-the-context-window/SKILL.md · Apply when context is filling up: large outputs, long files, repeated reads, fan-out planning. Route bulk to subagents…
nightly-labs/openbot · marketplace/production-catalog/bundles/pstack/skills/principle-guard-the-context-window/SKILL.md · Apply when context is filling up: large outputs, long files, repeated reads, fan-out planning. Route bulk to subagents…
michael-denyer/pstack-claude · plugins/pstack/skills/principle-guard-the-context-window/SKILL.md · Apply when context is filling up: large outputs, long files, repeated reads, fan-out planning. Route bulk to subagents…
backnotprop/pstack · skills/principle-guard-the-context-window/SKILL.md · Apply when context is filling up: large outputs, long files, repeated reads, fan-out planning. Route bulk to subagents…
iap/pstack-hermes · skills/principle-guard-the-context-window/SKILL.md · Apply when context is filling up: large outputs, long files, repeated reads, fan-out planning. Route bulk to subagents…
j-star-films-studios/vibecode-protocol-suite · assets/.agent/skills/engineering-principles/guard-the-context-window/SKILL.md · Apply when context is filling up: large outputs, long files, repeated reads, fan-out planning. Route bulk to subagents…
barbieri/local-openfinance · .agents/skills/principle-guard-the-context-window/SKILL.md · Apply when context is filling up: large outputs, long files, repeated reads, fan-out planning. Route bulk to subagents…
