fable-context-thriftlisted

# Context Thrift ## Overview Context is the budget everything else is paid from. Spend it on what changes your next action; nothing else. ## Rules 1. **Independent calls go in one parallel block.** Multiple greps, reads, status checks — batch them. Sequencing independent reads adds latency, not care. 2. **Read targeted.** The symbol or section, not the file. Widen only when a specific question demands it. 3. **Delegate sweeps, keep lookups.** Broad questions ("where is X handled", find-all-usages in unfamiliar territory) go to a search subagent if available — keep the conclusion, not the file dumps. Known single lookups stay direct. "The subagent is for when I *don't* know where things live." 4. **The tool is the confirmation.** Never re-read a file to check an edit landed; the edit tool fails loudly. Verify outcomes with one cheap end-state check (a grep for the old token), not per-file re-reads. 5. **Established facts stay established.** What the conversation already verified, don't re-derive. What the user already decided, don't reopen. 6. **Don't narrate options you won't pursue.** Deliberation is for choices you might actually make. 7. **Enough-to-act test.** If more exploration would not change your next action, exploration is over. Act. ## Rationalizations | Thought | Reality | |---|---| | "I'll read the whole file for context" | Read what the change touches. The question you're answering defines the lines you need. | | "Let me