github / github/copilot-cli

/compact cannot recover a session after the CAPI Responses payload reaches the 5 MB limit`

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area:context-memory area:sessions
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Shell
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Descrizione

### Describe the bug

### Description

When a Copilot CLI session reaches the 5 MB CAPI Responses request limit, normal prompts fail as expected—but `/compact` also fails. This leaves no way to reduce the active context while preserving and continuing the session. Basically this kills my session and I cannot continue in it which is a huge kill in productivity and flow.

### Error

> The request is too large to send through CAPI Responses. Try shortening the conversation or prompt. (5.0 MB request; 5.0 MB limit)
>

### Environment

- GitHub Copilot CLI: `1.0.78-0`
- OS: macOS `26.5.2`
- Architecture: `arm64`

![Image](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/8754091b-8195-4eb3-a940-ca3f2cb15f3f)

### Affected version

1.0.78-0

### Steps to reproduce the behavior

## Steps to reproduce

1. Continue an interactive Copilot CLI session until its request context reaches 5 MB.
2. Submit another prompt.
3. Observe the request-size error.
4. Run `/compact`.
5. Observe that compaction cannot complete either.

### Expected behavior

## Expected behavior

`/compact` should remain usable after the normal request limit is reached, perhaps by truncating or chunking context locally before requesting a summary. The complete transcript should remain stored locally.

Ideally, Copilot CLI should also compact automatically before reaching an unrecoverable size.

### Actual behavior

Both regular prompts and `/compact` are blocked. The session history still exists, but the session cannot be continued; the only practical workaround is starting a new session and manually transferring context.

### Additional context

Additional detail

This occurs when the UI reports only approximately 69–70% context usage (about 1.1M context shown), rather than near 100%.

The context meter appears to track token capacity, while CAPI applies a separate 5 MB serialized-request limit. The CLI neither warns about this lower effective limit nor compacts before reaching it.

I have attached a screenshot showing the session at 70% context when the failure occurred.

Guida per i contributori

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Direzione di ricerca

Inizia riproducendo il malfunzionamento in una sessione interattiva di Copilot CLI quando la richiesta CAPI Responses raggiunge il limite di 5 MB, quindi esegui /compact. Traccia i percorsi di compattazione e di gestione delle dimensioni della richiesta; il lavoro è completato quando /compact può ridurre il contesto e continuare la sessione esistente, mentre la trascrizione completa rimane memorizzata localmente.

Scritto dal modello di indicizzazione a partire dal testo della issue.

Valutazione

Stack tecnologico
shell
Ambito
cli
Tipo di issue
Bug
Difficoltà
4/5
Tempo stimato
3-5 giorni
Stato di attività
Tranquilla
Chiarezza
Abbastanza chiara
Idoneità per principianti
48/100

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