VS Code Extension: "too long prompt" error blocks all input with no recovery guidance

Summary

When a conversation becomes too long in the VS Code extension, a "too long prompt" error appears and the extension becomes completely unresponsive to any input. No guidance is provided on how to recover, forcing users to quit VS Code entirely and switch to the terminal CLI.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Use Claude Code via the VS Code extension
2. Have a long conversation (many back-and-forth exchanges)
3. At some point, a "too long prompt" message appears
4. After this message, no input is accepted — the extension becomes unresponsive

Expected Behavior

• Auto-compact should trigger before the context limit is reached, OR
• The error message should include actionable recovery instructions (e.g., "Run /compact to compress the conversation" or "Run /clear to start a new session"), OR
• At minimum, /clear and /compact commands should still be accepted even after the error occurs

Actual Behavior

• "too long prompt" message is shown with no additional guidance
• All subsequent input is ignored
• The only workaround is to close VS Code and restart, or switch to the terminal CLI

Suggestion

1. Display a clear recovery message alongside the error
2. Allow /compact and /clear commands to work even in the error state
3. Consider enabling auto-compact by default to prevent this from happening

Environment

• Claude Code VS Code Extension
• macOS (Darwin 25.2.0)