diff --git a/docs/core-data-structures/compaction.md b/docs/core-data-structures/compaction.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..75900bc5db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/core-data-structures/compaction.md
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+# Compaction
+
+The compaction seam — a [capability seam](../rfc/implemented/architecture/2026-06-13-capability-seams.md) split like bash: interface ([dsh-compact](../../packages/compact/compact), `ctx.compact`), implementation (a backend such as `dsh-compact-basic`, deferred), and consumer (a `/compact` tool, deferred). Compaction is **one optional capability**, not part of the agent-loop spine — so its vocabulary lives here, not in [core.md](core.md). A tokenizer- or template-based backend is a sibling package implementing the same interface. Unlike bash, the interface necessarily depends on `dsh-session` and `dsh-llm`: its verbs are defined over a `Session` and its output is the `ContentBlock` vocabulary (see the [compaction capability-seam RFC](../rfc/proposed/feature/2026-06-18-compaction-capability-seam.md)).
+
+Source: [`packages/compact/compact/src/types.ts`](../../packages/compact/compact/src/types.ts)
+
+## The `compact/*` session events
+
+Compaction extends [`SessionEventMap`](session.md) with three event types via declaration merging. All three are **log-only** — they record the compaction lock and its provenance, and never join the surface. `SurfaceEventType` is deliberately NOT extended (only message-producing events reach the model), so the summary itself rides on a separate `user/message` with `surfaceOp: { op: 'replace', start, end }` — the only surface mutation. See the RFC for why reusing `user/message` is honest rather than a workaround.
+
+| Event | Payload | Role |
+|---|---|---|
+| `compact/start` | `{ turn }` | acquires the log-recorded lock |
+| `compact/summary` | `{ summary, compactedRange, compactedEventSeqs, tokenCount }` | provenance: the summary blocks, the shadowed seq range, and the estimated token count |
+| `compact/end` | `{ turn, error? }` | releases the lock (`error` set when summarization threw) |
+
+The lock brackets the **whole** operation: `compact/start` is appended first, then summarization, the `compact/summary` provenance record, and the `user/message` replacement all land, and only then `compact/end`. Releasing the lock last turns a crash mid-operation into a detectable orphaned lock (a `compact/start` with no matching `compact/end`) rather than a `compact/end` that falsely claims compaction finished.
+
+These variants are merged inside a `declare module '@deepseek-ai/dsh-session'` block, so — unlike the top-level types on the other sub-pages — they are not pasted as a drift-checked ` ```ts type-equiv ` block (the `verify-type-equiv` extractor matches only top-level declarations by name). The payload table above is the catalog entry; follow the source link for the authoritative shapes.
+
+## `CompactionResult`
+
+What a successful compaction returns to its caller: the seqs of the three appended `compact/*` events, the summary blocks, and the shadowed range/seqs plus the estimated token count.
+
+```ts type-equiv
+interface CompactionResult {
+  /** The seq of the appended `compact/start` event. */
+  startSeq: number
+  /** The seq of the appended `compact/summary` event. */
+  summarySeq: number
+  /** The seq of the appended `compact/end` event. */
+  endSeq: number
+  /** The summary content blocks produced by the backend. */
+  summary: ContentBlock[]
+  /** The seq range that was shadowed [start, end] inclusive. */
+  shadowedRange: { start: number; end: number }
+  /** The seq numbers of all shadowed surface nodes. */
+  shadowedSeqs: number[]
+  /** Estimated token count of the shadowed content. */
+  compactedTokenCount: number
+}
+```
+
+## The service
+
+`CompactService` (`ctx.compact`, abstract — defined in [`packages/compact/compact/src/index.ts`](../../packages/compact/compact/src/index.ts)) declares two abstract methods: `compactIfNeeded(session, systemPrompt?, model?, signal?)` checks token pressure and compacts an older range if the history is too large (returning `null` when nothing needs it), and `compactRegion(session, start, end, model, signal?)` forcibly summarizes surface nodes `[start, end]` into a single replacement node. Both take an optional `signal: AbortSignal` that a backend summarizing via `ctx.llm.stream()` must forward into the call's `GenerateOptions.signal`, so an abort or dispose tears down the in-flight summarization. The entire strategy — token estimation, retention policy, event sequencing, summarization — is a HOW decision owned by the implementation.
diff --git a/docs/core-data-structures/core.md b/docs/core-data-structures/core.md
index b13cdc1de4..b59cfd334b 100644
--- a/docs/core-data-structures/core.md
+++ b/docs/core-data-structures/core.md
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ Everything else is documented on a **sub-page**, not here. The rule that draws t
 | [persistence.md](persistence.md) | the durability seam: `SessionPersistence`, JSONL + SQLite backends, `session/flush`, crash recovery, `SessionHeader` |
 | [tools.md](tools.md) | `ToolDefinition` full fields, the schema DSL, `ToolExecution`/`ToolResult`, tool-presentation UI types, the `tools/execute` waterfall |
 | [bash.md](bash.md) | the bash executor seam: `BashExecRequest`/`Spec`, `BashRunResult`, background `BashTask`s |
+| [compaction.md](compaction.md) | the compaction seam: the `compact/*` session events, `CompactionResult`, the `CompactService` interface |
 
 > Type definitions on this page are pasted **verbatim** from source and drift-checked by `pnpm run verify-type-equiv` (see [development.md](../development.md#documenting-types-verbatim-ts-type-equiv)). Inline JSDoc is omitted for readability; follow the source link for the full contracts.
 
diff --git a/docs/core-data-structures/session.md b/docs/core-data-structures/session.md
index 2618db43c9..8f8ef4a800 100644
--- a/docs/core-data-structures/session.md
+++ b/docs/core-data-structures/session.md
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ Source: [`packages/core/session/src/types.ts`](../../packages/core/session/src/t
 
 ## `SessionEventMap` — the event vocabulary
 
-The append-only event types. Merge-extensible: a plugin (e.g. compaction) declares extra event types via declaration merging.
+The append-only event types. Merge-extensible: a plugin declares extra event types via declaration merging — e.g. the [compaction seam](compaction.md) adds `compact/start` / `compact/summary` / `compact/end`.
 
 ```ts type-equiv
 interface SessionEventMap {
diff --git a/scripts/type-equiv.manifest.json b/scripts/type-equiv.manifest.json
index 30165e2388..859e535095 100644
--- a/scripts/type-equiv.manifest.json
+++ b/scripts/type-equiv.manifest.json
@@ -39,6 +39,8 @@
     { "doc": "docs/core-data-structures/bash.md", "symbol": "BashRunResult", "source": "packages/bash/bash/src/types.ts" },
     { "doc": "docs/core-data-structures/bash.md", "symbol": "CollectedOutput", "source": "packages/bash/bash/src/types.ts" },
     { "doc": "docs/core-data-structures/bash.md", "symbol": "BashTask", "source": "packages/bash/bash/src/types.ts" },
-    { "doc": "docs/core-data-structures/bash.md", "symbol": "BashTaskRead", "source": "packages/bash/bash/src/types.ts" }
+    { "doc": "docs/core-data-structures/bash.md", "symbol": "BashTaskRead", "source": "packages/bash/bash/src/types.ts" },
+
+    { "doc": "docs/core-data-structures/compaction.md", "symbol": "CompactionResult", "source": "packages/compact/compact/src/types.ts" }
   ]
 }