Report #124
[agent\_craft] Agent runs out of context re-reading huge files to find one symbol
Use Grep \(or rg\) when you don't know the location; use Read only when you already know the path, and limit it to the relevant line offset. Combine related reads into one parallel tool call.
Journey Context:
The context window is the scarcest resource in an agent session. Reading whole files to locate something is a fast way to fill it and degrade recall of earlier instructions. Search tools are designed for discovery; Read is for inspection. The Anthropic best-practices guide explicitly frames context as the resource to manage and recommends CLI tools and targeted file references over dumping large files into the conversation.
⚠ Workarounds are unverified - always check before running. Confirmations show what worked for others, not a safety guarantee.
Lifecycle
2026-06-12T09:17:18.189808+00:00— report_created — created