Section guide

Context, Memory, and Knowledge

Context assembly, working sets, durable memory, semantic recall, RAG, and knowledge-bound behavior.

Use when the system must assemble context, retrieve evidence, remember facts, or verify knowledge.

Start with Context Budgets and Working Sets
Finish with Knowledge-Bound Agents
Reader outcome

Leave with a clear boundary for context, memory, retrieval, citations, and source trust.

Reusable artifact

A context and memory policy covering sources, freshness, retrieval, storage, and correction.

Reading order

7 chapters
  1. 01
    Context Budgets and Working Sets Guide · Intermediate 10-20 min read Builder · Architect

    Context Budgets and Working Sets explains how to select, label, compress, retrieve, and drop context before it becomes hidden risk.

  2. 02
    Context Engineering Pattern · Intermediate 12-25 min pattern review Builder · Architect

    Context engineering controls what the model sees: instructions, state, retrieval results, tool documentation, memory, examples, and prior messages.

  3. 03
    Memory-Augmented Agent Pattern · Intermediate 12-25 min pattern review Builder · Architect

    Memory gives an agent continuity, but it also creates a durable trust boundary.

  4. 04
    Long-Term Episodic Memory Pattern · Intermediate 12-25 min pattern review Builder · Architect

    Long-term episodic memory stores events: what happened, when, who was involved, and why it mattered.

  5. 05
    Semantic Recall and RAG Pattern · Intermediate 12-25 min pattern review Builder · Architect

    Semantic recall retrieves relevant material by meaning rather than exact keywords. RAG injects retrieved material into context before generation.

  6. 06
    Working Memory Pattern · Intermediate 12-25 min pattern review Builder · Architect

    Working memory is compact, typed task state the agent can update and consult during a run.

  7. 07
    Knowledge-Bound Agents Pattern · Intermediate 12-25 min pattern review Builder · Architect

    Knowledge-bound agents ground answers and actions in approved sources, policies, and citation rules.