diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index af852cf7c..b73d00dd4 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -35,6 +35,12 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
   is surfaced by `codewhale doctor`; `SSL_CERT_FILE` remains the preferred path
   for corporate or private CA roots. Thanks @wavezhang for the original #1893
   direction.
+- Added a default-disabled hard-compaction planner that can identify the
+  summarizable middle of a long conversation while preserving the recent tail,
+  existing tool-call/result pair guarantees, and working-set pinning. This
+  harvests the safe planning layer from #2522 without enabling hard compaction
+  or adding a message-rewrite execution path yet. Thanks @HUQIANTAO for the
+  proposal.
 - Added rich PlanArtifact support to `update_plan`: Plan mode can now carry
   grounded objectives, context, sources, critical files, constraints,
   verification, risks, and handoff notes through the transcript card, Plan
diff --git a/crates/tui/CHANGELOG.md b/crates/tui/CHANGELOG.md
index af852cf7c..b73d00dd4 100644
--- a/crates/tui/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/crates/tui/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -35,6 +35,12 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
   is surfaced by `codewhale doctor`; `SSL_CERT_FILE` remains the preferred path
   for corporate or private CA roots. Thanks @wavezhang for the original #1893
   direction.
+- Added a default-disabled hard-compaction planner that can identify the
+  summarizable middle of a long conversation while preserving the recent tail,
+  existing tool-call/result pair guarantees, and working-set pinning. This
+  harvests the safe planning layer from #2522 without enabling hard compaction
+  or adding a message-rewrite execution path yet. Thanks @HUQIANTAO for the
+  proposal.
 - Added rich PlanArtifact support to `update_plan`: Plan mode can now carry
   grounded objectives, context, sources, critical files, constraints,
   verification, risks, and handoff notes through the transcript card, Plan
diff --git a/crates/tui/src/compaction.rs b/crates/tui/src/compaction.rs
index 139b7b4ca..72c360cc8 100644
--- a/crates/tui/src/compaction.rs
+++ b/crates/tui/src/compaction.rs
@@ -60,6 +60,8 @@ impl Default for CompactionConfig {
 }
 
 pub const KEEP_RECENT_MESSAGES: usize = 4;
+#[allow(dead_code)]
+pub const HARD_COMPACT_KEEP_RECENT: usize = 8;
 const RECENT_WORKING_SET_WINDOW: usize = 12;
 const MAX_WORKING_SET_PATHS: usize = 24;
 const MIN_SUMMARIZE_MESSAGES: usize = 6;
@@ -121,6 +123,29 @@ pub struct CompactionPlan {
     pub summarize_indices: Vec<usize>,
 }
 
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq)]
+#[allow(dead_code)]
+pub struct HardCompactionConfig {
+    pub enabled: bool,
+    pub keep_recent: usize,
+}
+
+impl Default for HardCompactionConfig {
+    fn default() -> Self {
+        Self {
+            enabled: false,
+            keep_recent: HARD_COMPACT_KEEP_RECENT,
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq)]
+#[allow(dead_code)]
+pub struct HardCompactionPlan {
+    pub summarize_indices: Vec<usize>,
+    pub preserved_indices: Vec<usize>,
+}
+
 fn path_regex() -> &'static Regex {
     static PATH_RE: OnceLock<Regex> = OnceLock::new();
     PATH_RE.get_or_init(|| {
@@ -450,6 +475,32 @@ pub fn plan_compaction(
     }
 }
 
+#[allow(dead_code)]
+pub fn plan_hard_compaction(
+    messages: &[Message],
+    workspace: Option<&Path>,
+    keep_recent: usize,
+) -> Option<HardCompactionPlan> {
+    if keep_recent == 0 || messages.len() < keep_recent.saturating_add(MIN_SUMMARIZE_MESSAGES) {
+        return None;
+    }
+
+    let soft_plan = plan_compaction(messages, workspace, keep_recent, None, None);
+    if soft_plan.summarize_indices.len() < MIN_SUMMARIZE_MESSAGES {
+        return None;
+    }
+
+    let summarized: BTreeSet<_> = soft_plan.summarize_indices.iter().copied().collect();
+    let preserved_indices = (0..messages.len())
+        .filter(|idx| !summarized.contains(idx))
+        .collect();
+
+    Some(HardCompactionPlan {
+        summarize_indices: soft_plan.summarize_indices,
+        preserved_indices,
+    })
+}
+
 fn enforce_tool_call_pairs(messages: &[Message], pinned_indices: &mut BTreeSet<usize>) {
     if pinned_indices.is_empty() {
         return;
@@ -2100,6 +2151,80 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(plan.pinned_indices.contains(&1));
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn plan_hard_compaction_returns_none_when_too_few_messages() {
+        let messages = vec![
+            msg("user", "hello"),
+            msg("assistant", "hi"),
+            msg("user", "how are you"),
+            msg("assistant", "good"),
+        ];
+
+        assert!(plan_hard_compaction(&messages, None, HARD_COMPACT_KEEP_RECENT).is_none());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn plan_hard_compaction_preserves_recent_tail() {
+        let messages: Vec<Message> = (0..20)
+            .map(|i| {
+                msg(
+                    if i % 2 == 0 { "user" } else { "assistant" },
+                    &format!("message {i}"),
+                )
+            })
+            .collect();
+
+        let plan =
+            plan_hard_compaction(&messages, None, HARD_COMPACT_KEEP_RECENT).expect("hard plan");
+
+        let expected_recent: Vec<usize> = (20 - HARD_COMPACT_KEEP_RECENT..20).collect();
+        for idx in expected_recent {
+            assert!(plan.preserved_indices.contains(&idx));
+            assert!(!plan.summarize_indices.contains(&idx));
+        }
+        assert_eq!(plan.summarize_indices, (0..12).collect::<Vec<_>>());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn plan_hard_compaction_keeps_tool_pairs_across_tail_boundary() {
+        let mut messages: Vec<Message> = (0..8)
+            .map(|i| msg("user", &format!("summarizable noise {i}")))
+            .collect();
+        messages.push(Message {
+            role: "assistant".to_string(),
+            content: vec![ContentBlock::ToolUse {
+                id: "tail-call".to_string(),
+                name: "read_file".to_string(),
+                input: json!({"path": "crates/tui/src/compaction.rs"}),
+                caller: None,
+            }],
+        });
+        messages.push(Message {
+            role: "user".to_string(),
+            content: vec![ContentBlock::ToolResult {
+                tool_use_id: "tail-call".to_string(),
+                content: "file contents".to_string(),
+                is_error: None,
+                content_blocks: None,
+            }],
+        });
+
+        let plan = plan_hard_compaction(&messages, None, 1).expect("hard plan");
+
+        assert!(plan.preserved_indices.contains(&8));
+        assert!(plan.preserved_indices.contains(&9));
+        assert!(!plan.summarize_indices.contains(&8));
+        assert!(!plan.summarize_indices.contains(&9));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn hard_compaction_config_defaults_to_disabled() {
+        let config = HardCompactionConfig::default();
+
+        assert!(!config.enabled);
+        assert_eq!(config.keep_recent, HARD_COMPACT_KEEP_RECENT);
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn should_compact_ignores_fully_pinned_context() {
         let config = CompactionConfig {