Command reference Β· Cursor CLI
/summarize
Summarizes the conversation to free up space in the context window.
/summarize compresses the conversation so far to free up context. The command was renamed from /compress (to match the IDE); /compact and /compress still work as aliases.
π THE SAME TASK (βCOMPACT CONTEXTβ) ON OTHER PLATFORMS
β WHEN TO USE IT?
A long session is about to blow past the context window
/summarize β after many turns, before the agent loses track
Clean up before a topic switch within the same session
/summarize β keep the key points, drop the detail noise
β WHEN NOT TO?
Important detail must not be lost
Summarizing loses the exact wording and detail fidelity of earlier messages.
Better: Write down important facts explicitly beforehand, or use /fork to keep a copy with the full history
The context is still small
Summarizing a short session barely saves space but still costs nuance.
Better: Just keep working normally
SOURCES
- Cursor Docs β Slash Commands β cursor.com