Context Management

Control what Claude sees and remembers to get precise, focused assistance for your tasks.

What is Context?

Claude predicts each response based on all previous text in the conversation - this is your context window:

• Every message you've sent and Claude has sent
• All file content you've shared or Claude has read
• System instructions from your CLAUDE.md files
• Tool outputs from commands Claude has run
• Current goals and constraints you've established

How Context Works:

• Claude uses ALL previous text to predict what comes next
• There's a fixed maximum size (measured in tokens)
• When full, older content gets truncated and lost
• Each new session starts completely fresh

Why Context Management Matters for Steering

Mixed Topics Dilute Focus: When you discuss authentication, then UI design, then database optimization all in one session, Claude's next response is influenced by ALL these topics. This creates unfocused, scattered advice.

Context Pollution: Every piece of information affects Claude's predictions. Irrelevant details, old decisions, and off-topic content all "vote" on what Claude should say next.

Sharp Focus = Better Results: When your context contains only information relevant to your current task, Claude's responses stay precisely on target.

How to Steer with Context

Start Clean and Focused

Start fresh when needed:

/clear  # Start with clean context

Be specific about your current task:

"I'm debugging why JWT tokens expire immediately after login. Focus only on token generation and validation."

Maintain Task Focus

Set explicit boundaries:

"Only work on the login endpoint - don't suggest changes to the signup flow"
"Focus on the backend API - ignore frontend considerations for now"

Redirect when Claude wanders:

"That's interesting, but let's stick to fixing the token expiration issue"
"Save the performance optimization ideas - right now I need the login to work"

Control Information Flow

Add context progressively:

1. Start: "Debug authentication issue"
2. Add detail: "JWT tokens expire immediately"
3. Show code: [Paste only the relevant auth middleware]
4. Add constraints: "Must maintain backward compatibility"

Remove irrelevant context:

• Start fresh sessions when switching tasks
• Don't mix debugging sessions with new feature discussions
• Avoid sharing unrelated code or documentation

Work Within Context Limits

When Context Gets Full

Compact context to focus:

/compact authentication  # Reduce context to focus on authentication

Start fresh for new tasks:

# Instead of continuing a 200-message thread
/clear  # Start with clean context for password reset work

Extract decisions to files:

# Document in CLAUDE.md or project files
# Key architectural decisions
# Implementation patterns used
# Configuration choices made

Bridge Sessions Effectively

Reference previous work:

"Based on the auth system we built yesterday, now adding password reset functionality"

Link to persistent context:

"Following the patterns documented in our CLAUDE.md file"
"Using the JWT configuration from auth.config.js"

Common Steering Problems

Scope Creep During Conversation:

❌ User: "Fix the login bug"
    User: "Also, what about adding OAuth?"
    User: "And should we redesign the UI?"
    
✅ User: "Fix the login bug"
    Claude: [Fixes bug]
    User: "Perfect. Starting new session for OAuth integration."

Context Pollution:

❌ Discussing database optimization while debugging authentication
✅ "Let's finish the auth fix first, then discuss database performance separately"

Vague Task Boundaries:

❌ "Improve the user system"
✅ "Fix the JWT token expiration bug in the login endpoint"

Steering Effectively

✅ Be specific about your current task
✅ Set clear boundaries for each session
✅ Redirect Claude when it suggests off-topic work
✅ Start fresh sessions for unrelated tasks
✅ Use /clear and /compact to manage context

❌ Don't mix multiple tasks in one session
❌ Don't let conversations drift to related topics
❌ Don't assume Claude remembers cross-session context
❌ Don't overload context with irrelevant information

Related Topics

• Reasoning Modes - How reasoning modes affect context usage
• CLAUDE.md Files - Persistent project context