Documentation request: Guidance for working with very large files (70k-100k+ records)

Resolved 💬 3 comments Opened Dec 7, 2025 by JBCox Closed Feb 8, 2026

Summary

The current documentation lacks guidance for working with very large files - specifically datasets with 70k-100k+ records like parts catalogs, inventory databases, or pricing sheets.

Current State

The docs mention:

  • Avoid pasting large content directly
  • Use /compact and /clear for context management

But there's no guidance on:

  • Practical file size limits
  • Chunking strategies
  • Alternative approaches (SQLite, indexing, batch processing)
  • Workflow examples for large datasets

Proposed Addition

A new documentation page covering:

1. Understanding the Limits

  • Context window constraints
  • Token consumption for large files
  • When direct file reading becomes impractical

2. Practical Strategies

  • Query instead of load: Use grep/search to find specific records
  • Convert to SQLite: For repeated queries against large datasets
  • Split into chunks: Break files by category, range, or size
  • Create summary indexes: Lightweight reference files
  • Headless mode batching: Process large datasets in batches
  • MCP servers: Tools designed for large file handling

3. Examples

  • Finding specific parts in a large catalog
  • Bulk price updates
  • Generating reports from subsets

Why This Matters

Users working with real-world datasets (parts catalogs, product inventories, pricing databases) often have files with 50k-100k+ rows. Without guidance, they'll hit context limits and not know how to proceed.

Draft Content

I've drafted a full documentation page here: https://gist.github.com/ (can provide if helpful)

Would be happy to submit a PR if there's interest.

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