Compaction resume prioritizes completed work over current task, increasing re-explanation cost
Problem
After automatic compaction, the resume instruction ("continue from where we left off") sometimes causes Claude to open with a status summary of recently completed work rather than continuing the current task. This creates a re-explanation tax — the user has to spend a turn redirecting Claude back to what they're actually working on.
Reproduction
- Work on Task A (e.g., write tests for a module)
- Complete Task A and move on to Task B (e.g., implement a new feature)
- Compaction fires (or sleep/wake triggers a context reload on Mac)
- Claude resumes by narrating Task A's completion rather than continuing Task B
The compaction summary correctly includes both tasks, but the resume instruction treats the summary chronologically rather than by task status. Completed items near the top of the summary get narrated as if they're current context.
Impact
- Each "re-explanation" costs 1-2 turns of wasted context
- On long sessions with multiple compactions, this compounds — completed work keeps reappearing in summaries
- Particularly noticeable on Claude for Mac where sleep/wake cycles trigger more frequent context reloads
Suggested improvement
The compaction summary already has structured sections (completed work, current work, pending tasks). The resume instruction could:
- Anchor on the "Current Work" or "Pending Tasks" section rather than the chronological narrative
- Treat completed items as background context rather than action items
- Distinguish between "acknowledge this completed task" and "pick up this pending task"
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