Feature: /context --brief flag (chart only, no listings)
Summary
Add a --brief flag to the built-in /context command that shows only the utilization chart and categorical breakdown, without the MCP tools, custom agents, memory files, and skills listings below it.
Motivation
The /context output has two distinct sections:
- The utilization chart — the colored bar with categorical breakdown (system prompt, tools, agents, memory, skills, messages, free space) and token counts
- The inventory listings — full lists of MCP tools, custom agents, memory files, and skills with individual token counts
Section 1 is what users check most frequently ("how much runway do I have and what's consuming it?"). Section 2 is useful for auditing but rarely needed on a quick glance.
Currently there's no way to get just the chart. A --brief flag would make quick context checks fast and low-noise.
Alternative considered
Building this as a custom slash command using the statusline bridge file (/tmp/claude-ctx-{session_id}.json), but that file only contains aggregate used_pct / remaining_percentage — no categorical breakdown. The categorical data is computed inside the CLI when assembling the prompt and isn't exposed to hooks or external tools.
Bonus: expose categories in statusline hook data
If the categorical breakdown were included in the statusline hook's input data (alongside context_window.remaining_percentage), the community could build custom visualizations without needing CLI changes. Something like:
{
"context_window": {
"remaining_percentage": 94.3,
"categories": {
"system_prompt": 7000,
"system_tools": 10300,
"custom_agents": 3300,
"memory": 887,
"skills": 2400,
"messages": 60
}
}
}
This would be the more extensible solution long-term.
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