Context engineering: why your agent forgets, and what to do about it

Long sessions go sideways: the agent loses the plot, repeats itself, or confidently forgets what you told it an hour ago. That's a context problem, and it's largely fixable.

FIRST TIME? This is a small, friendly group that meets twice a month at Schuler Books on 28th Street, in the Chapbook Cafe. Free, no cover, nothing to prepare. Turn up, grab a coffee, and talk shop.

WHAT WE'RE DIGGING INTO

Treating the context window as a budget you spend rather than a box you fill. What actually belongs in a CLAUDE.md or system prompt and what's just noise. Compaction and summarising without losing the thread. Pulling information in when it's needed instead of loading everything up front. Why long sessions degrade and when to just start fresh.

WHO THIS IS FOR

Anyone working with LL

Ms or coding agents who's hit the wall where the thing stops being useful. No particular stack assumed. Beginners welcome - this is one of those topics where the basics get you most of the way.

HOW THE EVENING GOES

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