Use when working on complex multi-step tasks, when a session is getting long (40+ tool calls), when the agent starts ignoring rules it followed earlier, when conventions drift, when output quality seems to degrade, or after any context compaction event. Prevents long-session
Installs just this skill. Get the whole plugin for auto-invocation.
⚡ How it fires
How this skill gets triggered: by you, by Claude, or both.
Fires itselfClaude auto-loads it when your prompt matches the work.
You can call itInvoke it directly when you want it.
Slash command/session-guard
👁️ Context preview
The summary Claude sees to decide when to auto-load this skill.
Use when working on complex multi-step tasks, when a session is getting long (40+ tool calls), when the agent starts ignoring rules it followed earlier, when conventions drift, when output quality seems to degrade, or after any context compaction event. Prevents long-session
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Stars38,174
Forks4,092
LanguagePython
LicenseMIT
📦 Ships with wshobson-agents
</> SKILL.md
session-guard.SKILL.md
---name: session-guard
description: >-
Use when working on complex multi-step tasks, when a session is getting long
(40+ tool calls), when the agent starts ignoring rules it followed earlier,
when conventions drift, when output quality seems to degrade, or after any
context compaction event. Prevents long-session corruption AND context
compaction amnesia through behavioral self-enforcement.
---# Session Guard
## Overview
Long sessions corrupt silently. Context compaction drops instructions unannounced. Hooks don't fix it (confirmed by multiple developers on GitHub issues #19471, #9796, #64171). This skill prevents both through behavioral self-enforcement: monitor health, anchor critical rules through compaction, split before damage occurs. No packages, no databases - pure behavioral enforcement that works in every harness.
## When to Use
- Session exceeds 40 tool calls
- Agent contradicts earlier decisions
- Style/naming conventions start drifting
- After any context compaction event
- Task scope growing unbounded
## Health Signals
| Signal | Threshold | Action |
|--------|-----------|--------|
| Tool call count | >40 | YELLOW: checkpoint + recite critical rules |
| Tool call count | >60 | RED: split or compact with anchor |
When compaction has occurred (sudden loss of earlier context, or after /compact):
1. RE-READ the project's rules file immediately
2. RECITE the 3-5 critical rules aloud in your response
3. VERIFY your planned next action matches those rules before executing
4. If uncertain about ANY prior decision, RE-READ the source file - don't guess
### What survives compaction:
- Most recent user messages (high priority)
- Currently-invoked skill body (capped at 5K tokens, oldest dropped first)
- Git status and project structure
- File contents read AFTER compaction
### What gets LOST in compaction:
- Decisions made early in conversation
- Architectural rules stated only verbally (not in files)
- Context from tool outputs (file reads, command outputs)
### Compaction-Safe Pattern
Keep critical instructions in FILES (CLAUDE.md, CONTEXT.md), NOT in conversation. If a rule matters, it must live in a file the agent can re-read - not in something agreed on earlier.
## Common Mistakes
- Trusting that you remember the rules after 50+ tool calls (you don't - re-read)
- Re-reading EVERYTHING to be safe (wastes tool calls - be targeted)
- Feeling fine therefore assuming context is fine (compaction is SILENT)
- Splitting AFTER noticing problems (split BEFORE - prevention, not recovery)
## Why This Matters
Context compaction is the #1 unsolved platform problem in 2026. Hooks don't fix it (confirmed: the agent ignores post-compaction injections because the compaction summary creates narrative momentum). This skill is the lightweight behavioral countermeasure: no infrastructure, no packages - disciplined self-monitoring that works in every harness.
