Chapter 3 of 4
Context Management
Claude has a finite working memory. Manage it or lose it.
Claude Code has a finite context window. Think of it as working memory. Manage it:
Context Rot
Longer conversations = worse output.
/compact
At ~75% context usage, compress the conversation. Claude summarizes what's happened and frees space. Use this proactively — don't wait until it's too late.
/clear
Fresh start. Use when switching tasks or when the context has become confused. Better to start clean than to fight stale context.
Context Engineering > Prompt Engineering
Right info matters more than perfect prompt.
Be specific
“Look at src/components/Header.tsx” is better than “look at the header.” Help Claude find things quickly instead of searching.
One thing at a time
Big, multi-part prompts waste context. “Add dark mode, fix the mobile nav, update the footer, and change the font” is four tasks crammed into one. Do them sequentially — each one builds on the last.
One Task, One Session
Clear the conversation between tasks.
Chapter 3 of 4