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skills/multi-agent-composition/patterns/context-in-composition.md

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+# Context in Composition
+
+**Strategic framework for managing context when composing multi-agent systems.**
+
+## The Core Problem
+
+Context window is your most precious resource when composing multiple agents. A focused agent is a performant agent.
+
+**The Reality:**
+
+```text
+Single agent doing everything:
+├── Context explodes to 150k+ tokens
+├── Performance degrades
+└── Eventually fails or times out
+
+Multi-agent composition:
+├── Each agent: <40k tokens
+├── Main agent: Stays lean
+└── Work completes successfully
+```
+
+## The R&D Framework
+
+There are only two strategies for managing context in multi-agent systems:
+
+**R - Reduce**
+
+- Minimize what enters context windows
+- Remove unused MCP servers (can consume 24k+ tokens)
+- Shrink static CLAUDE.md files
+- Use context priming instead of static loading
+
+**D - Delegate**
+
+- Move work to sub-agents' isolated contexts
+- Use background agents for autonomous work
+- Employ orchestrator sleep patterns
+- Treat agents as deletable temporary resources
+
+**Everything else is a tactic implementing R or D.**
+
+## The Four Levels of Context Mastery
+
+### Level 1: Beginner - Stop Wasting Tokens
+
+**Focus:** Resource management
+
+**Key Actions:**
+
+- Remove unused MCP servers (reclaim 20k+ tokens)
+- Minimize CLAUDE.md (<1k tokens)
+- Disable autocompact buffer (reclaim 20%)
+
+**Success Metric:** 85-90% context window free at startup
+
+**Move to Level 2 when:** Resources cleaned but still rebuilding context for different tasks
+
+---
+
+### Level 2: Intermediate - Load Selectively
+
+**Focus:** Dynamic context loading
+
+**Key Actions:**
+
+- Context priming (`/prime` commands vs. static files)
+- Sub-agent delegation for parallel work
+- Composable workflows (scout-plan-build)
+
+**Success Metric:** 60-75% context window free during work
+
+**Move to Level 3 when:** Managing multiple agents but struggling with handoffs
+
+---
+
+### Level 3: Advanced - Multi-Agent Handoff
+
+**Focus:** Agent-to-agent context transfer
+
+**Key Actions:**
+
+- Context bundles (60-70% transfer in 10% tokens)
+- Monitor context limits proactively
+- Chain multiple agents without overflow
+
+**Success Metric:** Per-agent context <60k tokens, successful handoffs
+
+**Move to Level 4 when:** Need agents working autonomously while you do other work
+
+---
+
+### Level 4: Agentic - Out-of-Loop Systems
+
+**Focus:** Fleet orchestration
+
+**Key Actions:**
+
+- Background agents (`/background` command)
+- Dedicated agent environments
+- Orchestrator sleep patterns
+- Zero-touch execution
+
+**Success Metric:** Agents ship work end-to-end without intervention
+
+---
+
+## When Context Becomes a Composition Issue
+
+**Trigger 1: Single Agent Exceeds 150k Tokens**
+→ Delegate to sub-agents with isolated contexts
+
+**Trigger 2: Agent Reading >20 Files**
+→ Use scout agents to identify relevant subset first
+
+**Trigger 3: `/context` Shows >80% Used**
+→ Start fresh agent, use context bundles for handoff
+
+**Trigger 4: Performance Degrading Mid-Workflow**
+→ Split workflow across multiple focused agents
+
+**Trigger 5: Same Analysis Repeated Multiple Times**
+→ Context overflow forcing re-reads; delegate earlier
+
+## Composition Patterns by Level
+
+**Beginner:** Single agent, minimal static context
+
+**Intermediate:** Main agent + sub-agents for parallel work
+
+**Advanced:** Agent chains with context bundles for handoff
+
+**Agentic:** Orchestrator + fleet of specialized agents
+
+## Key Principles
+
+1. **Focused agents perform better** - Single purpose, minimal context
+2. **Agents are deletable** - Free context by removing completed agents
+3. **200k is plenty** - Context explosions are design problems, not capacity problems
+4. **Orchestrators must sleep** - Don't observe all sub-agent work
+5. **Context bundles over full replay** - 70% context in 10% tokens
+
+## Implementation Details
+
+For practical patterns, see:
+
+- [Multi-Agent Context Isolation](../reference/multi-agent-context-isolation.md) - Parallel execution, context bundling
+- [Orchestrator Pattern](orchestrator-pattern.md) - Sleep patterns, fleet management
+- [Decision Framework](decision-framework.md) - When to use each component
+
+## Source Attribution
+
+Primary: Elite Context Engineering, Claude 2.0 transcripts
+Supporting: One Agent to Rule Them All, Sub-Agents documentation
+
+---
+
+**Remember:** Context is the first pillar of the Core 4. Master context strategy, and you can scale infinitely with focused agents.