---
name: context-hygiene
description: Keep long sessions focused by summarizing stale branches and preserving the active objective path. Use when conversation context gets noisy, branches pile up, or user asks to refocus.
category: workflow
impact: medium
---

# Context Hygiene Instructions

## 🎯 Purpose
Reduce context drift and cognitive noise in long sessions without weakening mandatory safety and refresh constraints.

## 🚨 Prohibitions (Thou Shalt Not)
- **NEVER skip mandatory preflight refresh** (`root-skill`, `core-principles`, `skill-list`).
- **NEVER drop the active main task or return point.**
- **NEVER prune context by hiding unresolved decisions.**
- **NEVER use context cleanup as a shortcut to ignore required skills.**

## Workflows

1. **Detect Context Noise**
   - Trigger when `>= 3` parked branches exist or user requests refocus.
   - Identify which branches are active vs stale.

2. **Create Compact Continuity Snapshot**
   - Keep four items visible:
     - Main task
     - Current sub-task
     - Prerequisite reason
     - Return point

3. **Park Stale Branches**
   - Summarize stale branches in 1-2 lines each under a backlog/parking note.
   - Keep unresolved decisions explicit.

4. **Resume Active Path**
   - Continue only with skills relevant to the active path.
   - If branch relevance is unclear, ask one clarifying question (`grill-me` protocol).

## ✅ / ❌ Examples

```text
// ❌ FORBIDDEN
Dropping older branches silently and continuing with a new direction.

// ✅ REQUIRED
Main task and return point preserved; side branches summarized in parking lot; active path resumed.
```