What the timeline shows

The session walks through a realistic flow with representative token counts:

• Before you type anything: CLAUDE.md, auto memory, MCP tool names, and skill descriptions all load into context. Your own setup may add more here, like an output style or text from --append-system-prompt.
• As Claude works: each file read adds to context, path-scoped rules load automatically alongside matching files, and a PostToolUse hook fires after each edit.
• The follow-up prompt: a subagent handles the research in its own separate context window, so the large file reads stay out of yours. Only the summary and a small metadata trailer come back.
• At the end: /compact replaces the conversation with a structured summary. Most startup content reloads automatically; the table below shows what happens to each mechanism.