FAQ

FAQ

Do I run slipstream as a CLI?

No. You install it as a Claude Code plugin in VS Code. There is a helper binary the plugin calls from its hooks, slash commands and the MCP server, but you never invoke it directly. The node dist/cli/index.js ... lines in the docs are for debugging and scripting.

What does it actually save me tokens on?

Reads. Instead of opening a whole file, Claude calls sp_symbol for one declaration or sp_lines for a window. On this repository a single symbol is 71% fewer tokens than the whole file, and orienting via the map is 5.4% of reading the tree. See Token efficiency.

Is the token budget real?

Inside Claude Code, yes: slipstream reads the session transcript's latest usage block for the true context-window occupancy and shows it marked exact (ctx 47%*). In an editor that exposes no readable transcript over MCP it falls back to a cautious estimate (bytes pulled at 3.6 bytes/token), which you can calibrate by pasting the editor's real number into budget.json's actualTokens. Either way the gauge, the sp_budget tool and the statusline read the same budget.json. See Cross-IDE support and Configuration and tuning.

How much has slipstream actually saved me?

Run sp_savings or slipstream savings, or read the "optimised" line in the dashboard's Session-work panel and the opt % statusline segment. Every scoped read records the bytes it served versus the whole-file baseline, so the figure ("saved ~N tokens, Y% less than whole-file reads") is exact — and works in every editor, not just Claude Code, because it is computed from slipstream's own calls. See Token efficiency.

Does it remember what I did automatically?

Yes. Beyond the facts you save with /slipstream:remember, every turn is folded into a compact, semantically searchable observation. Query it with sp_search_memory → sp_timeline → sp_observations, and ask sp_lessons for the topics you keep returning to. See Observation memory and semantic search.

Does it work in Cursor, Windsurf, Antigravity or plain VS Code?

The MCP layer does: the sp_* tools, memory search, the live dashboard, the budget gauge and the optimization metric all work via the MCP server, which feeds and auto-starts the dashboard with no hooks. Skills, slash commands and the statusline are Claude Code plugin features. The true token count needs Claude Code's transcript; elsewhere the budget is an estimate. See Cross-IDE support.

Does my code or my memory leave the machine?

No. There is no telemetry and no remote service. The dashboard binds 127.0.0.1 only, and obvious secrets are redacted before they reach the local log. See Security model.

What happens to my context when the session compacts?

The PreCompact hook writes a structured digest (open task, decisions, files touched, next step) to memory before the compaction. The next session reloads it first. That is the lossless-compaction feature. See Lossless compaction.

Does it reload my whole memory store every session?

No. It ranks memories against a task signal (git branch, changed files, last prompt) and reloads only the relevant subset under a ~1,200 token ceiling, plus the index. With no signal it reloads nothing. See Memory recall.

How do I know the install is working?

Run /slipstream:doctor. It checks the MCP server, every hook including PreCompact, the memory store, the CLI, the statusline, the output style and the subagents, and prints a PASS/FAIL line per check.

Why not use the MCP SDK?

To keep the bundled server dependency-free and auditable in one file. The protocol surface Claude Code drives is small and stable. See Design decisions.

Can I add my own skills, tools or agents?

Yes. See Writing a skill and Contributing. The skill engine is general; the shipped catalogue is opinionated toward Cloudflare, Supabase, Vercel and Resend.

Does the dashboard control the agents?

No. It observes and visualises them. It cannot pause a tool call or steer a subagent. That is by design. See Live agent dashboard.

What Node version do I need?

Node 20 or newer, on the PATH Claude Code uses. The hooks, helper and MCP server all run on Node.

Will there be a hosted version?

No. slipstream stays local-only. If it phoned home it would not be slipstream. See Roadmap and limitations.

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