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openclaw-skill/openclaw-knowhow-skill/docs/reference/concepts/compaction.md
Selig 4c966a3ad2 Initial commit: OpenClaw Skill Collection
6 custom skills (assign-task, dispatch-webhook, daily-briefing,
task-capture, qmd-brain, tts-voice) with technical documentation.
Compatible with Claude Code, OpenClaw, Codex CLI, and OpenCode.
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Compaction

OpenClaw's compaction feature manages context window limitations by summarizing older conversation history while preserving recent messages.

What Compaction Does

Compaction summarizes older conversation into a compact summary entry and keeps recent messages intact. The summaries remain stored in session history for future reference.

Two Compaction Types

Auto-compaction

Triggers automatically when sessions approach or exceed the model's context limits. Users see a "Auto-compaction complete" notification in verbose mode.

Manual compaction

Initiated via the /compact command, optionally with custom instructions like "Focus on decisions and open questions."

Compaction vs Session Pruning

Feature Compaction Session Pruning
Action Summarizes and persists in JSONL Trims old tool results only
Scope Full conversation history In-memory, per request
Persistence Permanent Temporary

Practical Guidance

  • Use /compact when sessions feel outdated or context becomes bloated
  • Use /new or /reset when starting fresh sessions is preferred