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/compact Command

The /compact command helps you summarize your conversation history with AiderDesk. This is particularly useful for long conversations, as it condenses the previous interactions into a concise summary, allowing the AI agent to maintain context more efficiently without being overwhelmed by excessive history.

What It Does​

When you run /compact, AiderDesk analyzes the entire conversation history in the current project. It then generates a structured summary that includes:

  • The primary request and overall intent of the conversation.
  • Key technical concepts discussed.
  • A chronological list of all user messages.
  • Details about files and code sections that were read, created, or modified, including relevant code snippets.
  • A log of errors encountered and their resolutions.
  • The current work being performed and the next logical step.

After the summary is generated, the conversation history in the current session is replaced with this summary, effectively "compacting" it.

Why It's Useful​

  • Improved Context Management: For lengthy sessions, the AI's context window can become full. Compacting the conversation helps keep the most relevant information available to the AI, preventing it from "forgetting" earlier details.
  • Faster Responses: With a more concise context, the AI can process information more quickly, potentially leading to faster response times.
  • Cost Efficiency: By reducing the amount of historical data sent to the model, it can help manage token usage, which might lead to more cost-efficient interactions with certain LLM providers.

How to Use It​

  1. Run the Command: Type /compact into the prompt field and press Enter.

    • You can also provide custom instructions after the command, for example: /compact Summarize only the code changes.

  2. Analysis and Summary: The agent will analyze your conversation history and generate a summary. You will see log messages indicating its progress.

  3. Context Update: Once the summary is complete, your current conversation history will be replaced with the generated summary.

Model Usage​

The model used for compaction depends on your current mode:

  • Agent Mode: When in Agent mode, the /compact command utilizes a dedicated agent profile (compact) to perform the summarization. This profile is optimized for this task and uses the agent's configured model.
  • Other Modes (Code, Ask, Architect, Context): In these modes, the /compact command uses Aider's underlying main model to generate the conversation summary.