Context Shed

Context reduction and tagging for LLM handoff

Intelligently compress chat context into compact, reusable markdown files

Context Shed is a VS Code/Cursor extension that helps you manage long AI chat sessions by "shedding" context into structured markdown files. Instead of losing important context when your chat gets too long, create a compressed summary that captures the essential information.

Features

• 🗜️ Context Compression: Take a long chat session and compress it into a structured markdown file
• 📋 Smart Extraction: Uses LLM to intelligently extract key information:
  • Summary of work done
  • Files modified with their purposes
  • Key technical decisions and rationale
  • Current state and progress
  • Next steps and blockers
• 📝 Changelog Tracking: Track changes over time with timestamped entries
• 🔄 Workflow Phases: Visual workflow tracking (Planning → Implementation → Testing → Review → Complete)
• ♻️ Reusable Context: Load compressed context into new chat sessions

Installation

1. Clone this repository
2. Run npm install
3. Run npm run compile
4. Press F5 to launch the extension in development mode

Configuration

Open VS Code settings and search for "Context Shed":

Commands

Usage

Creating Context

1. Open Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P)
2. Run "Context Shed: Create/Update Context"
3. Choose input method:
   • Clipboard: Paste chat content from clipboard
   • Editor: Open a temporary editor to paste content
   • File: Select a text file
4. Wait for LLM to process
5. Context file is saved and opened

Loading Context

1. Run "Context Shed: Load Context to Clipboard"
2. Select a context file
3. Choose action:
   • Copy to clipboard (paste into new chat)
   • Open file
   • Insert at cursor

Example Output

# Context: Auth System Refactor
**Created:** 01/09/2026, 10:15 AM | **Updated:** 01/09/2026, 02:32 PM | **Status:** Implementation

## Workflow
[Visual mermaid diagram showing current phase]

## Summary
Building JWT auth with refresh tokens. Middleware complete, testing pending.

## Files Index
| File | Purpose | Status |
|------|---------|--------|
| `src/auth/jwt.ts` | Token generation/validation | ✅ Complete |
| `src/middleware/auth.ts` | Route protection | ✅ Complete |

## Key Decisions
- **Using RS256 over HS256** - Security requirement for token signing

## Changelog
### 01/09/2026, 02:32 PM
- Added refresh token rotation logic
- Fixed middleware error handling

## Current State
✅ JWT service complete
🔧 Refresh token rotation (in progress)

## Next Steps
1. Complete token rotation
2. Add rate limiting

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Compile TypeScript
npm run compile

# Watch mode
npm run watch

# Lint
npm run lint

License

MIT

context-shed