Compaction Recovery

Compaction Recovery Skill — Context Preservation Protocol

This skill ensures that when the LLM context window is compacted (compressed), no mission-critical information is lost. It defines what to preserve and how to restore it.

The Compaction Problem

When context is compacted:

• Previous conversation is summarized/compressed
• Detailed TODO items may lose their sub-task descriptions
• Implementation progress may be forgotten
• File-level assignment details may vanish
• Partial code changes may lose their context

Prevention Protocol

Write Everything Important to Files

NEVER rely on conversation context for critical information. ALWAYS persist to the active session directory.

Each /orchestrator invocation creates a new isolated session. The active session ID is stored in .qwen-orchestrator/current-session. All state writes go to .qwen-orchestrator/sessions/<session-id>/.

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.qwen-orchestrator/
├── current-session                  # Active session ID (single line: YYYY-MM-DDTHH-MM-SS)
├── sessions/
│   ├── 2026-05-07T14-30-00/         # Archived session (IMMUTABLE — never modify)
│   │   ├── context.md
│   │   ├── memory.md
│   │   └── ...
│   └── 2026-05-07T16-45-00/         # Active session (pointed to by current-session)
│       ├── context.md               # Project context (<150 lines)
│       ├── memory.md                # Session state for recovery
│       ├── redesign-analysis.md     # Redesign analysis (if applicable)
│       ├── tech-decisions.md        # Technology decisions
│       ├── seo-report.md            # SEO audit results
│       ├── sync-issues.md           # Cross-file sync issues
│       ├── project-status.md        # Progress tracking
│       ├── qa-report.md             # Quality reports
│       ├── agent-health.md          # Agent status tracking
│       ├── progress/
│       │   ├── mission-state.md     # Current mission snapshot
│       │   ├── active-files.md      # Files being worked on + status
│       │   └── decisions.md         # Architecture decisions made
│       ├── checkpoints/
│       │   └── cp-[timestamp].md    # Periodic checkpoint snapshots
│       └── docs/                    # Cached documentation
│           └── *.md
└── shared/                          # Cross-session persistent data (future use)

Shorthand: $SESSION_DIR = .qwen-orchestrator/sessions/$(cat .qwen-orchestrator/current-session)/

TODO Format for Compaction Survival

Each TODO item must be SELF-CONTAINED (understandable without conversation):

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## T3.1: Implement User Authentication Module | agent:Backend Developer | status:in_progress

### Context ( survives compaction )

- **Goal**: JWT-based auth with refresh tokens
- **Files**: src/auth/jwt.service.ts, src/auth/auth.controller.ts
- **Dependencies**: jsonwebtoken, bcrypt
- **Business Rules**: Token expires in 15min, refresh in 7 days
- **Pattern**: Repository pattern with Passport.js strategy

### Sub-tasks

- [x] S3.1.1: Create JWT service with sign/verify/refresh | PASS
- [ ] S3.1.2: Create auth controller with login/logout/register
- [ ] S3.1.3: Add refresh token rotation
- [ ] S3.1.4: Write integration tests

### Progress

- S3.1.1 DONE: jwt.service.ts created, unit tests pass (12/12)
- S3.1.2 NEXT: Starting auth.controller.ts

Checkpoint Schedule

Write checkpoints at these moments:

1. After every milestone completion
2. Before complex refactoring
3. When switching between agents
4. Every 30 minutes of active work
5. Before any risky operation

Checkpoint Format

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# Checkpoint — [Timestamp]

## Mission: [Name]

## Progress: [N]/[Total] tasks complete

## Currently Active

- Agent: [Name]
- Task: [ID + Description]
- File: [Current file being worked on]
- Status: [What was just done, what's next]

## Completed This Session

- [Task 1]: [Result]
- [Task 2]: [Result]

## Pending

- [Next 3 immediate tasks]

## Blockers

- [Any blockers and their status]

## Key Decisions

- [Decisions made this session]

## Files Modified

- [file1]: [what changed]
- [file2]: [what changed]

Recovery Protocol

When Compaction is Detected

1. STOP current operation
2. READ .qwen-orchestrator/current-session to find the active session ID
3. READ $SESSION_DIR/memory.md for session state
4. READ current TodoWrite state for task status
5. READ latest checkpoint in $SESSION_DIR/checkpoints/
6. RESUME from the exact point recorded

Where $SESSION_DIR = .qwen-orchestrator/sessions/<active-session-id>/

Recovery Checklist

• Memory file read and understood
• TODO status matches reality (verify files)
• Last checkpoint verified against actual file state
• Active agent identified and re-engaged
• No duplicate work started

Agent-Specific Preservation

Commander

Must persist: Mission scope, delegation plan, active sessions, sync issues

Planner

Must persist: Research findings, architecture decisions, TODO structure

Developer

Must persist: Current file, implementation approach, test status, code patterns

Reviewer

Must persist: Review findings, sync issues, verification evidence

QA Engineer

Must persist: Test strategy, coverage targets, known bugs

Project Manager

Must persist: Scope changes, risk register, progress metrics

Rules

• ALWAYS write state to files BEFORE doing risky operations
• ALWAYS make TODO items self-contained (no conversation context needed)
• ALWAYS create checkpoints at regular intervals
• ALWAYS verify file state matches recorded state after recovery
• NEVER rely on conversation memory for mission-critical information
• NEVER modify files from archived sessions — each session's data is IMMUTABLE after that session ends
• ALWAYS read .qwen-orchestrator/current-session first to determine the active session directory
• ALWAYS write state to $SESSION_DIR/ (not the flat .qwen-orchestrator/ root)

When NOT to Use

Do NOT use this skill when:

• Writing application business logic (use domain-driven skill for complete business modules)
• Designing database schemas (use database-design skill for normalization and indexing)
• Writing API endpoint implementations (use api-design skill for REST/GraphQL endpoint patterns)
• Reviewing code for quality issues (use code-review skill for comprehensive audits)
• Performing security audits (use security-auditor skill for vulnerability analysis)
• Analyzing deployment configurations (use deployment skill for CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure)
• Writing SQL queries (use sql-best-practices skill for query optimization and N+1 prevention)
• Designing multi-page website layouts (use design-system skill for professional UI/UX and spacing)
• Planning funnels or integrations (use multi-channel-funnels or third-party-integrations skills)
• Refactoring existing code (use refactoring skill for safe behavior-preserving transformations)