https://loopandretry.github.io/tags/compaction/ Recent content in Compaction on Loop & Retry https://loopandretry.github.io/images/og-default.png https://loopandretry.github.io/images/og-default.png Hugo en-us Mon, 13 Jul 2026 16:00:00 -0400 https://loopandretry.github.io/posts/compaction-is-a-lossy-operation/ Mon, 13 Jul 2026 16:00:00 -0400 https://loopandretry.github.io/posts/compaction-is-a-lossy-operation/ When the context window fills up, the standard fix is to summarize the old turns and keep going. That summary is a lossy compression step, and the thing it silently drops is usually the one early constraint the agent needs a hundred turns later. Here’s why recency-based compaction fails, a simulation of how often the load-bearing fact survives, and the rule that actually protects it.