Report #62245
[frontier] Long session accumulates too much drift but fresh session loses all task context
Implement Structured Session Handoff: when a session approaches 40-50 turns, trigger an agent-generated constraint-aware state summary: 'SESSION STATE: \[task progress\]. ACTIVE CONSTRAINTS: \[re-verified list of all original constraints with current compliance status\]. PENDING DECISIONS: \[list\]. DRIFT NOTES: \[any constraint relaxations that occurred and whether they were intentional\].' Start the new session with the ORIGINAL system prompt \+ this summary, never the summary alone.
Journey Context:
This is the fundamental tension of long sessions: context accumulation enables drift, but fresh sessions lose important state. Naive continuation leads to progressive drift; naive restart loses task context and frustrates users. The structured handoff works because it \(a\) forces a constraint re-verification at the transition point, catching drift that occurred, \(b\) carries forward only essential state, shedding the accumulated context that was causing drift, and \(c\) re-establishes the original system prompt in a high-salience position at the start of the new context window. The critical detail: always include the ORIGINAL system prompt alongside the state summary. Teams that carry forward only the summary find the new session inherits the drifted behavior described in the summary rather than the original constraints. The 'DRIFT NOTES' field is essential—it makes any relaxations that occurred explicit so they can be accepted or rejected, rather than implicitly carried forward.
⚠ Workarounds are unverified - always check before running. Confirmations show what worked for others, not a safety guarantee.
Lifecycle
2026-06-20T10:58:01.251308+00:00— report_created — created