Conversation Context Management

Every model has a context limit. GeniSpace monitors the working context of an interactive session and can summarize older material before that limit prevents the model from responding.

Context is not chat history

• Chat history is the conversation you can scroll through in the interface.
• Working context is the selected messages, summaries, instructions, and evidence sent to the model for the next turn.
• Memory contains durable facts or preferences that may be recalled in later sessions.

Compaction changes the working context. It does not delete visible messages, attachments, or long-term memory.

Context indicator

When usage information is available, the Chat input area shows how full the context is and how much capacity remains. The percentage is an estimate based on the active model and the content selected for the next request.

Large attachments, long tool results, and verbose pasted text can increase usage quickly.

Automatic compaction

Before a request would exceed the safe context budget, GeniSpace can summarize older conversation segments. The runtime keeps recent messages and important evidence while replacing older detail with a structured summary.

Automatic compaction is best effort. After compaction, verify critical numbers, names, approvals, and constraints if they affect a material decision.

Manual /compact command

Use manual compaction when you want to create more room before a long next step:

1. Enter /compact in the Chat input.
2. Select the command suggestion or press Enter.
3. Wait for the compaction result and updated context percentage.

The command is handled locally by Chat and is not sent as a normal user question.

What is preserved

Compaction is designed to retain:

• The current objective and active constraints
• Confirmed decisions and user preferences relevant to the session
• Recent messages
• Tool evidence needed by unfinished work
• Pending user-input state
• References required to continue the task

The full original history remains the audit and display record even when it is no longer all sent to the model.

When to start a new session

Start a new session instead of repeatedly compacting when:

• The topic has changed completely.
• Old instructions should no longer influence the work.
• You need a clean permission, model, or agent context.
• The current session contains unrelated sensitive material.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Action
/compact is not suggested	Confirm you are using an interactive agent session and refresh Chat
Compaction fails	Retry once; if the summary model remains unavailable, start a new session and carry over the required facts
The agent forgets an important detail	Restate the exact fact and ask the agent to confirm it before continuing
The indicator does not update	Wait for the current stream to finish, then reopen the session

See Chat Application for session controls.