[Feature Request] Command to view/export context compaction summary

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing requests and this feature hasn't been requested yet
• [x] This is a single feature request (not multiple features)

Problem Statement

When context runs out or /compact is used, Claude generates a summary that gets passed to the next session (starting with "This session is being continued from a previous conversation..."). Currently there is no way to:

1. View this summary before or after compaction
2. 2. Export it to a file for review
3. 3. Verify what context was preserved vs lost

This makes it difficult to:

• Debug issues where Claude "forgot" important context
• - Understand what information survives compaction
• - - Create manual checkpoints of conversation state

Note: This feature was previously requested in #667 but was auto-closed after 60 days of inactivity without implementation or official response.

Proposed Solution

Add a command to view or export the compaction summary:

/show-summary          # Display the current compaction summary
/show-summary --export # Export to file

Or alternatively:

/compact --preview     # Show what the summary would be without compacting
/compact --export      # Compact and save summary to file

Use Cases

1. Debugging context loss - Verify what Claude retained after compaction
2. 2. Manual checkpointing - Save summaries for different feature branches (see #12686 3. Quality control - Review summary before continuing long sessions
3. 4. Understanding behavior - Learn what Claude considers important to preserve

Related Issues

• #667 - Requested same feature, auto-closed due to inactivity
• - #21243 - Broader request for compaction visibility and control

Alternative Solutions

Current workarounds are inadequate:

1. Using --verbose flag - May show some internal details but doesn't expose the actual summary text
2. 2. Checking ~/.claude/projects/ logs - Conversation JSON files might contain summary data but format is undocumented and not user-friendly
3. 3. Manual note-taking - Keeping separate notes of conversation state defeats the purpose of automatic summarization

Priority

Medium - Would be very helpful

Feature Category

CLI commands and flags

Use Case Example

1. Working on a complex refactoring task across multiple files
2. 2. Context runs low and auto-compaction triggers
3. 3. Claude continues but seems to have "forgotten" some earlier decisions
4. 4. Want to verify what was preserved in the summary
5. 5. Run /show-summary to see the compaction summary
6. 6. Discover that important architectural decisions were summarized too briefly
7. 7. Re-read the relevant documentation to restore that context

Additional Context

Environment: Claude Code CLI, all platforms