Progressive Disclosure for Documentation

A pattern for restructuring large documentation files into slim indexes with on-demand subdirectories, reducing always-included context by 40-60%.

Problem

Large documentation files (500+ lines, 5k+ tokens) that are always included in context:

• Waste context budget on rarely-needed content
• Slow down response times
• Crowd out more relevant information
• Create cognitive overload

Solution

Split monolithic docs into:

1. Slim index (~20% of original) - Always included, provides overview + navigation
2. Detail directories - On-demand loading when specific topics needed

Structure