/compact custom instructions placeholder is misleading
Resolved 💬 3 comments Opened Apr 3, 2026 by drewdutch Closed Apr 7, 2026
Problem
The /compact command shows placeholder text: <optional custom summarization instructions> — implying you can control what gets compacted.
In practice, /compact always summarizes the entire conversation. The custom instructions only influence what the summary prioritizes, not what gets compacted vs. preserved.
Example
I had a session using ~239k tokens, mostly from large Bash tool results. I ran:
/compact just do this Bash results using 239.1k tokens (24%) → save ~119.5k
Expected: Only the Bash results would be compacted, preserving the rest of the conversation.
Actual: The entire conversation was compacted into a summary. Everything was replaced — not just the Bash output.
Why this matters
- The placeholder text reads like a filter/selector, not a priority hint
- Users trying to learn the tool get burned and lose important conversation context
- There's no undo — once compacted, the original conversation is gone
Suggestion
Either:
- Make selective compaction work — let users target specific content types (tool results, bash output, etc.)
- Change the placeholder text to something honest like
<optional hints for what the summary should prioritize>so users know what they're getting
This issue has 3 comments on GitHub. Read the full discussion on GitHub ↗