context-window

3 questions

AI

When do I run /compact vs /clear vs /rewind?

Three commands, three different recovery shapes. /clear wipes the conversation; /compact summarizes the whole conversation; /rewind goes back to a specific message and offers per-component restore (code, conversation, both) or targeted summarize from that point.
AI

How do I recover when Claude auto-compacts and forgets the plan?

Compaction replaces the conversation with a summary; CLAUDE.md and auto memory are re-injected from disk, but path-scoped rules and per-turn nuance are lost. Use /context to watch budget, /rewind to undo a turn, and /clear to start fresh; reach for `claude --resume` only when the session is still salvageable.
AI

How do I run multiple research subagents in parallel?

Ask for parallel subagents in one user turn. Each runs in a fresh context, returns one summary to the parent's live context, and (in normal use) exits; transcripts persist on disk for grep, but the live parent never receives the trail. Use it for noisy independent lookups, not for work you plan to iterate on.