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Openclaw-superpowers context-budget-guard

Proactively monitors estimated token usage during long sessions and triggers context-window-management before overflow, not after. Use at the start of any session expected to last more than 30 minutes.

install
source · Clone the upstream repo
git clone https://github.com/ArchieIndian/openclaw-superpowers
Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/
T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/ArchieIndian/openclaw-superpowers "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/skills/openclaw-native/context-budget-guard" ~/.claude/skills/archieindian-openclaw-superpowers-context-budget-guard && rm -rf "$T"
OpenClaw · Install into ~/.openclaw/skills/
T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/ArchieIndian/openclaw-superpowers "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.openclaw/skills && cp -r "$T/skills/openclaw-native/context-budget-guard" ~/.openclaw/skills/archieindian-openclaw-superpowers-context-budget-guard && rm -rf "$T"
manifest: skills/openclaw-native/context-budget-guard/SKILL.md
source content

Context Budget Guard

State file: 

~/.openclaw/skill-state/context-budget-guard/state.yaml

Don't wait for the model to go incoherent. Act at 70%, not 95%.

When to Use

  • At the start of any long-running session (>30 min expected)
  • Before each major task step in a multi-hour workflow
  • When 
    long-running-task-management
    advances to a new stage

The Process

Step 1: Initialize (Session Start)

Write to state: 

session_start
timestamp, 
compaction_count: 0
, 
status: monitoring
, 
threshold_pct: 70
.

Step 2: Check Budget (Before Each Major Step)

Estimate current context usage as a rough percentage:

  • Low (<50%) — continue normally
  • Medium (50–70%) — note in state, proceed with caution (avoid loading large files)
  • High (>70%) — trigger 
    context-window-management
    NOW, before continuing

To estimate: count approximate tokens from recent messages, loaded file contents, and active task context.

Step 3: After Compaction

  • Increment 
    compaction_count
    in state
  • Write 
    last_compacted_at
    , 
    strategy_used
    (passed from 
    context-window-management
    )
  • Reset mental estimate to ~20% (post-compaction baseline)

Step 4: Session End

Update state: 

status: idle
, 
session_end
timestamp.

Key Principles

  • The 70% threshold is the trigger — earlier is always better than later
  • Check budget BEFORE loading large files or running subagents, not after
  • If in doubt: compact. A clean context costs less than a confused one.
  • Works best paired with 
    long-running-task-management
    — check budget at every checkpoint