Clicking context ring should show context breakdown, not trigger /compact
Status Open
Maintainer reply None cached
Activity 0 comments · opened Sep 6, 2026
Current behavior
Clicking the context window ring in the Claude Code input area immediately triggers /compact.
Expected behavior
Clicking the ring shows a breakdown of what's consuming the context window (tokens by category, % used) — matching the informational affordance in Claude Desktop.
Compact should require an explicit action — the /compact command or a dedicated button — not an accidental click on a passive indicator.
Proposed behavior
- Click ring → show context window makeup (tokens by category, % used)
/compactcommand or explicit button → trigger compaction
Why
The ring is a passive status indicator. Clicking it to get more information is a natural affordance. Triggering a destructive/irreversible action (compaction drops context) on a single click with no confirmation is surprising and easy to do by accident.
Steps to reproduce
- Start a long conversation in Claude Code
- Click the context ring in the input area
- Observe:
/compactfires immediately with no confirmation
Environment
- Claude Code (any recent version)
- macOS / terminal input UI