Need ability to selectively remove images from context without full compaction
Environment:
- Platform: darwin
- Terminal: Apple_Terminal
- Version: 2.1.81
- Model: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context)
- Feedback ID: 92bba761-d803-42e8-9fe2-a03fe9ddda9b
Description:
The error "An image in the conversation exceeds the dimension limit for many-image requests (2000px)" appears even at low context usage (10-25%). The only available workaround is /compact, which discards the entire conversation context, not just the problematic images.
Steps to Reproduce:
- Start a session with significant context (code, plans, discussion)
- Read/view multiple screenshots or images during iterative work (e.g., reviewing UI changes)
- After a few images, the dimension limit error triggers despite low context consumption (10-25%)
Expected Behavior:
Users should be able to selectively remove specific images from context while preserving the rest of the conversation (code context, decisions, discussion history).
Actual Behavior:
The only option is /compact, which compresses the entire context. This causes loss of important conversation state that has nothing to do with the images.
Impact:
High impact for iterative visual workflows. When modifying a UI and repeatedly viewing updated screenshots, the context fills with stale images quickly. Running /compact to clear them destroys valuable non-image context, breaking the workflow.
Proposed Solution:
Add a mechanism to selectively remove images/files from context. For example:
- A command like
/remove-image [index]or/clear-imagesto drop images while preserving text context - Auto expire older images when newer versions of the same file are viewed
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