𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲: 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝘃𝘀 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿

𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲: 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝘃𝘀 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿

Your Claude Code session starts well. After one hour, responses turn vague. After two hours, Claude contradicts itself.

Claude is not failing. Your context window is full.

When context fills up, Claude loses focus. Early instructions lose weight. The session ends in frustration.

You have two tools to fix this.

/𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁

This command summarizes your history. It keeps recent context intact. It saves key decisions in a shorter form.

Use this when:

• Your session lasts 45 to 60 minutes.
• You are mid-task and need context.
• Responses get short or imprecise.

It preserves your current task state and key agreements. It loses step-by-step details from the beginning.

/𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿

This command wipes the conversation. It reloads your CLAUDE.md file automatically.

Use this when:

• You finished one task and start a new one.
• The session went in the wrong direction.
• /compact does not solve the problem.

It preserves your project files. It loses all conversation history.

Decision Guide:

• Same task? Use /compact.
• New task? Use /clear.

Three ways to manage context:

1. Front-load context. Tell Claude your constraints at the start. This information carries more weight.

2. Break work into sessions. Do not code for 4 hours in one session. Finish the database layer, use /clear, then start the API layer.

3. Use /compact proactively. Do not wait for quality to drop. Run it at natural checkpoints.

If you use Ultrathink, run /compact more often. It uses more context per response. Run it after every 2 or 3 thinking calls.

Full guide: https://dev.to/stacknotice/claude-code-compact-vs-clear-2026-managing-long-sessions-without-losing-quality-4dhm

Optional learning community: https://t.me/GyaanSetuAi