Memory & context
What is Short-Term Memory?
Short-term memory is the working set for the current run: notes, tool results, and the active goal.
It usually lives in the context window or a scratchpad and is discarded when the run ends.
Why it matters
Short-term memory is the working set for the current agent run: the conversation so far, tool results, intermediate notes, and the active goal. It lives in the model's context window and is discarded when the run ends.
Managing short-term memory well means choosing what to keep in context and what to summarize or drop. Context windows are finite; filling them with irrelevant information degrades model performance.
Key takeaways
- 1Short-term memory = the current context window contents.
- 2It is discarded when the session ends.
- 3Context management is the key skill — keep what matters, drop what doesn't.
Common mistakes
- ✕Keeping all tool results in context, even when they are no longer relevant.
- ✕Not summarizing long conversations, causing context overflow.
Related terms
Concept neighborhood
Terms linked from Short-Term Memory in the glossary graph.