feat: context window monitor hook with agent-side WARNING/CRITICAL alerts

Adds PostToolUse hook that reads context metrics from statusline bridge file and injects alerts into agent conversation when context is low.

Features:
- Two-tier alerts: WARNING (<=35% remaining) and CRITICAL (<=25%)
- Smart debounce: 5 tool uses between warnings, severity escalation bypasses
- Silent fail: never blocks tool execution
- Security: session_id sanitized to prevent path traversal

Ref #212
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vinicius-tersi
2026-02-20 17:40:08 -03:00
committed by GitHub
parent bfdd64fd59
commit 7542d364b4
5 changed files with 286 additions and 4 deletions

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# Context Window Monitor
A PostToolUse hook that warns the agent when context window usage is high.
## Problem
The statusline shows context usage to the **user**, but the **agent** has no awareness of context limits. When context runs low, the agent continues working until it hits the wall — potentially mid-task with no state saved.
## How It Works
1. The statusline hook writes context metrics to `/tmp/claude-ctx-{session_id}.json`
2. After each tool use, the context monitor reads these metrics
3. When remaining context drops below thresholds, it injects a warning as `additionalContext`
4. The agent receives the warning in its conversation and can act accordingly
## Thresholds
| Level | Remaining | Agent Behavior |
|-------|-----------|----------------|
| Normal | > 35% | No warning |
| WARNING | <= 35% | Wrap up current task, avoid starting new complex work |
| CRITICAL | <= 25% | Stop immediately, save state (`/gsd:pause-work`) |
## Debounce
To avoid spamming the agent with repeated warnings:
- First warning always fires immediately
- Subsequent warnings require 5 tool uses between them
- Severity escalation (WARNING -> CRITICAL) bypasses debounce
## Architecture
```
Statusline Hook (gsd-statusline.js)
| writes
v
/tmp/claude-ctx-{session_id}.json
^ reads
|
Context Monitor (gsd-context-monitor.js, PostToolUse)
| injects
v
additionalContext -> Agent sees warning
```
The bridge file is a simple JSON object:
```json
{
"session_id": "abc123",
"remaining_percentage": 28.5,
"used_pct": 71,
"timestamp": 1708200000
}
```
## Integration with GSD
GSD's `/gsd:pause-work` command saves execution state. The WARNING message suggests using it. The CRITICAL message instructs immediate state save.
## Setup
Both hooks are automatically registered during `npx get-shit-done-cc` installation:
- **Statusline** (writes bridge file): Registered as `statusLine` in settings.json
- **Context Monitor** (reads bridge file): Registered as `PostToolUse` hook in settings.json
Manual registration in `~/.claude/settings.json`:
```json
{
"statusLine": {
"type": "command",
"command": "node ~/.claude/hooks/gsd-statusline.js"
},
"hooks": {
"PostToolUse": [
{
"hooks": [
{
"type": "command",
"command": "node ~/.claude/hooks/gsd-context-monitor.js"
}
]
}
]
}
}
```
## Safety
- The hook wraps everything in try/catch and exits silently on error
- It never blocks tool execution — a broken monitor should not break the agent's workflow
- Stale metrics (older than 60s) are ignored
- Missing bridge files are handled gracefully (subagents, fresh sessions)