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