[BUG] /compact fails with ECONNRESET at only 35% context data — no recovery path when API is intermittently unstable

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched [existing issues] and there are multiple such bugs reported but most of them were above 70% but for me it is failing at even 10% today
• [x] This is a single bug report
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

/compact consistently fails with Error: Error during compaction: API Error: Unable to connect to API (ECONNRESET). Because compaction is the only way to free context space and continue a session, an ECONNRESET during /compact leaves the session in a permanently unrecoverable state — you can't continue without compacting, and compacting keeps failing. I have only hit 35% (350k out of 1M) of the context but due to another issue where the session crashes around 40% (already reported this bug as well), I am simply trying to compact and proceed in the same session as moving to a new session is not an option (Also consumes majority of the tokens which the current session has already consumed)
I am seeing the same issue today, around 3 to 4 times, that too when trying to compact a session which has only 20% context.

What Should Happen?

Claude should be able to compact the session, especially if it hasn't hit the context threshold (since the session is only at 35%)

Error Messages/Logs

Error during compaction: API Error: Unable to connect to API (ECONNRESET)

Steps to Reproduce

1. Have an active session at ~35–40% context (it is failing even at 10% after compact suceeded today)
2. Run /compact
3. Receive Error during compaction: API Error: Unable to connect to API (ECONNRESET)
4. Retry 4+ times — same result
5. Session is now stuck with no forward path

Claude Model

Opus 4.8

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

2.1.144

Claude Code Version

2.1.146

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

VS Code integrated terminal

Additional Information

<img width="539" height="443" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/dbcfd84b-428d-452f-82ab-634302bd0171" />

<img width="761" height="395" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/3422ff78-450d-4437-959a-65969dfe5985" />