/keel-compact — refresh the disk, THEN compact

Compaction summarizes the conversation lossily; the pincer (PreCompact snapshot + SessionStart re-ground) restores only what is ON DISK. This skill exists so a forgotten ritual can't turn a manual compact into an information-loss event — the failure mode: /compact run with a stale HANDOVER, and the snapshot faithfully backs up the stale file. Run it whenever you are about to compact (or the context feels near-full). The individual skills stay directly invokable as always — this is the umbrella, not a replacement.

1. Run the full /keel-handover procedure (rules.md §1.4) — it already cascades: /keel-distill when caps are hit, the session block (a)–(d), PLAN.md status flips + the regenerated diagram, TASKS.md cleanup, and the §9.31 sweep of unwritten agreements into LESSONS.md. Do not duplicate its steps here — invoke it.
2. Freshness gate — RUN python3 .claude/keel-compact-check.py (ONE call; its rc is the verdict). It measures the mechanical half of the list below and prints its own scope: size per always-loaded file (lines · KB · over-long lines — caps read from .claude/keel-caps), HANDOVER block count + top-block date + "written this session" + STALE-DISK debt, ## Now per lane, ## Review evidence files, ghost citations, and the push boundary. rc 0 pass · 1 RED (fix, re-run) · 2 the instrument failed (fall back to the list by hand). It refuses to fake the one non-mechanical item and PRINTS it instead — the §9.31 sweep is yours. Why a script: on a live 5-agent project this checklist cost 17 / 25 / 59 tool turns per ritual at the fullest context of the session (~37M cache reads for one run). The list it replaces, for reference:
   • HANDOVER.md top block carries THIS session's YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM and describes THIS session (same-day ≠ same-session: another session's block from today is still stale — add your own).
   • TASKS.md ## Now matches reality; finished items deleted (one-liners in block (a)).
   • No agreement / gotcha / failed approach from this conversation is still unwritten (§9.31).
   • Caps respected (defaults — .claude/keel-caps overrides, rules §10.40): HANDOVER ≤ 3 blocks / ~150 · LESSONS ≤ ~250 · TASKS ≤ ~100 (else /keel-distill) — in LINES and KB, with no line over its per-line cap (a line cap alone once let HANDOVER reach 244 KB on 146 lines).
   • PLAN.md statuses + Current focus current (if the project uses PLAN.md).
3. Offer an approved commit + the batched push (rules.md §1.3, §6.15) — this is the natural push boundary: commits accrued through the session go out here in ONE approval (the ask on push fires once, not per-commit — that's the point). git is the second safety net beside .claude/snapshots/: even a bad summary then loses nothing.
4. Hand off: tell the user — "Disk is fresh; now run /compact." A skill CANNOT invoke the built-in /compact itself; stop here and let the user trigger it.

Enforcement: this ritual is not just advice — the compact-gate PreCompact hook (matcher manual) BLOCKS a stale manual /compact with exit 2 and points here, so forgetting it can't silently cost a session (on older CLIs the block degrades to a warning). Emergency bypasses: /compact keel-force · touch .claude/compact-force (one-shot).

Scope honesty: the gate covers MANUAL compacts only. Auto-compact is never blocked (a blocked auto-compact could wedge a full session) — the defense there remains the hot-path discipline (§9.31: write it the moment it appears) + the pincer. For full determinism you can disable auto-compact in /config and compact only via this ritual (trade-off: forget too long and the session hits the hard context limit mid-turn).