# Clearing

Concept · [Building with AI](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/ai)

Also called: clear, /clear, clear the context, clear context, new chat, fresh session, start over

Ending a [session](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/session) and starting a completely empty one. It is the cleanest way out of the [dumb zone](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/smart-zone). Anything the [agent](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/ai-agent) needs afterward has to come from files or notes you point it to.

**For example:** Once a feature is finished, the [founder](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/founder) clears the [session](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/session) before starting the next task so old details do not confuse the [agent](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/ai-agent).

## Connects to (9)

- [Session](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/session): One stretch of work with an AI agent, from a blank start until it is cleared, closed or compacted.
- [Compaction](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/compaction): Shrinking a long session by replacing its history with a summary and carrying on from that summary in a fresh context window.
- [Handoff artifact](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/handoff-artifact): The written document that carries a handoff, produced by one session for another to read.
- [Smart zone](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/smart-zone): A name for the early part of a session, when an agent is focused and accurate.
- [Context window](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/context-window): How much text an LLM can take into account at one time.
- [Stateless](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/stateless): Describes something that keeps nothing between uses.
- [Attention degradation](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/attention-degradation): The drop in an agent's sharpness as a session gets long.
- [Autocompact](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/autocompact): Compaction that the agent's software starts on its own when the context window is nearly full.
- [Handoff](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/handoff): Passing work from one session to the next, or from one agent to another, so the new one can continue without the full history.

Map view: https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/clearing