Context Optimization Techniques

Context optimization extends the effective capacity of limited context windows through strategic compression, masking, caching, and partitioning. Effective optimization increases useful capacity without requiring larger models or longer windows — but only when applied with measurement discipline. The techniques below are ordered by impact and risk.

When to Activate

Activate this skill when:

• Context budgets or token costs constrain task complexity
• Observation masking can replace verbose tool outputs with retrievable references
• Prefix or KV-cache hit rate needs improvement
• Retrieval scoping can reduce irrelevant loaded context
• Context partitioning can extend effective capacity across agents
• Budget triggers are needed for masking, compaction, or partitioning

Do not activate this skill for adjacent work owned by other skills:

• Explaining why attention or context windows behave this way: context-fundamentals.
• Diagnosing active lost-in-middle, poisoning, distraction, confusion, or clash: context-degradation.