Context Management in Bwat

Effective context management unlocks Bwat's full potential

💡 Key Concepts

• Context = Bwat's understanding of your project
• Context Window = Bwat's active working memory capacity
• Use context documentation to maintain knowledge
• Refresh context when reaching capacity limits

Context Fundamentals

Working with Bwat resembles collaborating with an intelligent team member:

How Context Develops

Bwat builds understanding through two primary methods:

Autonomous Context Collection

• Proactively examines relevant files
• Analyzes project architecture
• Identifies patterns and connections
• Maps dependencies and relationships
• Requests clarification when needed

User-Directed Context

• Provide specific files
• Share documentation
• Respond to Bwat's inquiries
• Guide attention to key areas
• Communicate requirements and designs

💡 Pro Tip: Bwat actively works to understand your project. You can let it explore independently or direct its focus, particularly in Planning Mode.

Context Capacity Explained

Imagine context as a shared workspace:

Context includes:

• Discovered project information
• Shared documents
• Conversation history
• Project specifications
• Previous decisions

Context Window represents capacity:

• Measured in tokens (~0.75 English words per token)
• Model-specific limits:
  • Claude 3.5 Sonnet: 200,000 tokens
  • DeepSeek: 64,000 tokens
• When full, requires resetting to continue

⚠️ Note: Large context windows don't require complete utilization. Like physical workspaces, overcrowding reduces effectiveness.

Context Usage Indicator

Bwat provides visual feedback about context usage through a progress indicator:

Interpreting the Display

• ↑ indicates input tokens (your contributions)
• ↓ shows output tokens (Bwat's responses)
• Progress bar visualizes current usage
• Total displays model capacity

When to Monitor Usage

• During extended work sessions
• When handling multiple files
• Before complex tasks
• If context appears fragmented

💡 Best Practice: Consider refreshing your session when reaching 70-80% capacity for optimal performance.

Context Documentation Strategies

Project documentation helps maintain continuity across sessions by providing structured information for AI assistance.

Documentation Approaches

Persistent Project Documentation (Knowledge Base)

• Living documentation evolving with your project
• Updated as architecture develops
• Example: Maintaining technical-context.md and system-patterns.md
• Essential for long-term projects and teams

Task-Specific Documentation

• Created for focused implementation work
• Records requirements and decisions
• Example:

# authentication-implementation.md
 
## Specifications
- OAuth2 integration
- Google/GitHub provider support
- Authentication endpoint rate limits
 
## Technical Choices
- Passport.js for provider integration
- JWT session management
- Redis rate limiting

Progress Documentation

• Use Planning Mode to document completed work and next steps
• Save as markdown reference
• Begin new tasks with this context

Effective Documentation Practices

Organization

• Maintain clear structure
• Include practical examples
• Connect related concepts
• Focus content purposefully

Maintenance

• Update with major changes
• Version control documentation
• Remove obsolete information
• Record important decisions

Practical Recommendations

Project Initiation

• Allow Bwat to analyze codebase
• Respond to architecture questions
• Establish basic documentation
• Record design decisions

Ongoing Development

• Update documentation with changes
• Share relevant references
• Use Planning Mode for complex work
• Refresh sessions as needed

Team Collaboration

• Share common documentation (consider .bwatrules files)
• Document architectural choices
• Maintain consistent patterns
• Keep documentation current

Effective context management ensures Bwat maintains accurate project understanding across all interactions.