/compact fails with 'Conversation too long' error

Description

The /compact command fails with the error:

Error: Error during compaction: Error: Conversation too long. Press esc twice to go up a few messages and try again.

This defeats the purpose of /compact - it should work especially when the conversation is long.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Have a long conversation (observed in multiple independent sessions)
2. Run /compact
3. Error appears instead of compacting

Expected Behavior

/compact should successfully summarize and compact the conversation, regardless of length.

Environment

• Claude Code version: (current)
• OS: Linux
• Observed in multiple independent sessions

Additional Context

The error message suggests pressing ESC twice to "go up a few messages" - but this workaround is unclear and shouldn't be necessary for a compaction command.