a60e05c714
* fix(claude): restore namespaced /gsd:<command> references * test(claude): align slash-command expectations to /gsd: form * test(claude): align generated command references to /gsd: * test(claude): finish /gsd: namespace expectation updates
86 lines
6.1 KiB
Markdown
86 lines
6.1 KiB
Markdown
# Context Budget Rules
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Standard rules for keeping orchestrator context lean. Reference this in workflows that spawn subagents or read significant content.
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See also: `references/universal-anti-patterns.md` for the complete set of universal rules.
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---
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## Universal Rules
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Every workflow that spawns agents or reads significant content must follow these rules:
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1. **Never** read agent definition files (`agents/*.md`) -- `subagent_type` auto-loads them
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2. **Never** inline large files into subagent prompts -- tell agents to read files from disk instead
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3. **Read depth scales with context window** -- check `context_window` in `.planning/config.json`:
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- At < 500000 tokens (default 200k): read only frontmatter, status fields, or summaries. Never read full SUMMARY.md, VERIFICATION.md, or RESEARCH.md bodies.
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- At >= 500000 tokens (1M model): MAY read full subagent output bodies when the content is needed for inline presentation or decision-making. Still avoid unnecessary reads.
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4. **Delegate** heavy work to subagents -- the orchestrator routes, it doesn't execute
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5. **Proactive warning**: If you've already consumed significant context (large file reads, multiple subagent results), warn the user: "Context budget is getting heavy. Consider checkpointing progress."
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## Read Depth by Context Window
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| Context Window | Subagent Output Reading | SUMMARY.md | VERIFICATION.md | PLAN.md (other phases) |
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|---------------|------------------------|------------|-----------------|------------------------|
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| < 500k (200k model) | Frontmatter only | Frontmatter only | Frontmatter only | Current phase only |
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| >= 500k (1M model) | Full body permitted | Full body permitted | Full body permitted | Current phase only |
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**How to check:** Read `.planning/config.json` and inspect `context_window`. If the field is absent, treat as 200k (conservative default).
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## Context Degradation Tiers
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Monitor context usage and adjust behavior accordingly:
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| Tier | Usage | Behavior |
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|------|-------|----------|
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| PEAK | 0-30% | Full operations. Read bodies, spawn multiple agents, inline results. |
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| GOOD | 30-50% | Normal operations. Prefer frontmatter reads, delegate aggressively. |
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| DEGRADING | 50-70% | Economize. Frontmatter-only reads, minimal inlining, warn user about budget. |
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| POOR | 70%+ | Emergency mode. Checkpoint progress immediately. No new reads unless critical. |
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## Context Degradation Warning Signs
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Quality degrades gradually before panic thresholds fire. Watch for these early signals:
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- **Silent partial completion** -- agent claims task is done but implementation is incomplete. Self-check catches file existence but not semantic completeness. Always verify agent output meets the plan's must_haves, not just that files exist.
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- **Increasing vagueness** -- agent starts using phrases like "appropriate handling" or "standard patterns" instead of specific code. This indicates context pressure even before budget warnings fire.
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- **Skipped steps** -- agent omits protocol steps it would normally follow. If an agent's success criteria has 8 items but it only reports 5, suspect context pressure.
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When delegating to agents, the orchestrator cannot verify semantic correctness of agent output -- only structural completeness. This is a fundamental limitation. Mitigate with must_haves.truths and spot-check verification.
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## MCP Tool Schema Cost (Harness Concern)
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Every enabled MCP server injects its tool schema into **every turn**, regardless of whether you call any of its tools. Heavyweight servers can cost 20k+ tokens per turn each — often dwarfing whatever GSD itself can save through `model_profile` tuning. This is a Claude Code harness concern, not a GSD concern: GSD does **not** manage MCP enablement. The toggle lives in `.claude/settings.json` under `enabledMcpjsonServers` and `disabledMcpjsonServers`.
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### Why this is the biggest cost lever you don't own
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Tool schemas count against the same context budget as model context, prompts, and conversation history. If a project has 5 unused MCP servers averaging 5k tokens of schema each, every turn pays a 25k-token tax before the assistant reads a single project file. Trimming MCPs has a **multiplier effect** that compounds with whichever `model_profile` you've chosen — every-turn overhead drops regardless of which model is in use.
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### Pre-Phase MCP Audit
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Before starting a long phase (especially `/gsd:execute-phase`, `/gsd:plan-phase`, or anything that fans out across many subagents), run this audit:
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- [ ] **Browser / playwright tools enabled?** If this phase has no UI work, disable them. They're among the heaviest per-turn schemas.
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- [ ] **Platform-specific tools enabled?** Mac-tools / Windows-tools / OS-specific helpers should be disabled when not actively needed for the phase at hand.
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- [ ] **Cross-project / stale MCPs?** Servers added for a different project that are still enabled here. These are often forgotten and pay a per-turn tax for zero benefit.
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- [ ] **Duplicate or shadow servers?** Two MCPs offering similar tools (e.g. two different filesystem helpers). Keep one.
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Each item disabled removes its schema from every subsequent turn for the rest of the session.
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### How to toggle
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The keys live in `.claude/settings.json` (project) or `~/.claude/settings.json` (global) — **not** in `.planning/config.json`:
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```json
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{
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"enabledMcpjsonServers": ["context7"],
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"disabledMcpjsonServers": ["playwright", "mac-tools"]
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}
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```
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Either list works — `enabledMcpjsonServers` is an explicit allow-list, `disabledMcpjsonServers` is a block-list against the default. See the [Claude Code MCP documentation](https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/mcp) for the canonical reference; this section just flags it as a context-budget lever GSD users routinely overlook.
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### Composition with model_profile
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Trimming MCPs and tuning `model_profile` are independent levers that **compound**. Disabling a 25k-token MCP saves 25k per turn whether you're running `quality` (opus everywhere) or `budget` (sonnet/haiku); the savings are additive, not in lieu of model tuning. Don't pick one — do both, and audit MCPs first because the per-turn savings show up immediately and stack across every subagent the orchestrator spawns.
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