# Context & Token Management Rules

## File Access — Read Only What's Needed
- NEVER load or scan the entire project at the start of a task
- Only read files that are directly relevant to the current request
- If you need to understand the project structure, use `list_files` on specific
  subdirectories — do NOT recurse the whole repo
- If you've already read a file in this session, do NOT read it again — use
  your memory of it

## Thinking — Stay Focused, Don't Over-Plan
- Do not brainstorm more than 3 approaches before picking one
- Do not re-analyze a problem you already analyzed earlier in the session
- If a task is simple (under 5 steps), start doing it — don't write a plan first
- Maximum 2 rounds of self-correction before asking the user for help
- If you are stuck, STOP and ask — do not keep retrying and do not say it's okay and move on

## Context Window — Proactive Handoff
- Monitor context window usage (visible in environment_details)
- If context usage exceeds 40%, warn the user: "Context is at X%, consider
  starting a new task soon"
- If context usage exceeds 60%, STOP the current task and use the `new_task`
  tool to propose a clean handoff with a summary of:
  - What was accomplished
  - What files were changed
  - What the next step is
- Never let the context exceed 70% — performance degrades past that point

## Response Style — Be Concise
- Do not repeat what you just did at the end of each step
- Do not summarize the whole conversation when answering a short question
- Status updates should be one sentence max
- Do not explain what you're about to do AND then do it — just do it