Headroom compresses context while an agent is running. Graphify maps a codebase. ShardStitch recovers the interrupted working state when the tool stops, stalls, or needs to switch.
Quick answer: Pick Headroom for live context compression, Graphify for a queryable project map, and ShardStitch when the unfinished task itself needs a verified recovery packet.
Headroom and Graphify solve different context problems. Headroom reduces live prompt pressure during a running session. Graphify builds a durable map of how a project fits together. Neither is primarily a task-recovery packet for the moment a coding agent stops mid-change.
Related: Graphify alternatives and competitors.
Headroom compresses tool output, logs, diffs, and code while an agent is alive. That can reduce token use. It cannot restore a session, recover an uncaptured decision, or reconcile stale context against the current project after failure.
A smaller prompt is still trapped inside the same living workflow. ShardStitch exists for the moment that workflow is no longer available or trustworthy.
Headroom works during a live session. Every message gets smaller, so you hit the wall later. ShardStitch works after the wall. When the model stops answering, it rebuilds your state from what survived on disk - git diff, uncommitted work, dependency graph, conversation state, and working intent - then hands it to the next tool.
Headroom helps you hit the rate limit later. ShardStitch helps you keep going after you hit it.
A compression layer cannot reconstruct a session it was never running inside. A recovery layer does not shrink your live context. Different jobs, different moments.
| Capability | Headroom | ShardStitch |
|---|---|---|
| Primary job | Compress live context | Recover a dead or switched session |
| When it runs | During the session, inline | After it ends, reading disk |
| Works after session death | No - live middleware | Yes - rebuilds from disk |
| What it touches | Tokens before they reach the LLM | Git diff, dependencies, conversation, intent |
| Recovers the work and the "why" | No - compresses, does not recover | Yes - diff, dependency graph, decisions |
| Cross-tool handoff | Shared memory between live agents | Formatted handoff for native integrations plus web-chat paste fallback |
| Runs locally | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing | Free, open source (Apache-2.0) | $49 one-time lifetime license |
Headroom can postpone context pressure. It cannot create continuity after failure. If the model stops, the proxy has no next-session recovery packet; ShardStitch does.
· Headroom is a trademark of its respective owner; this comparison reflects publicly documented behavior.