Context Prioritization
Without an explicit rank, the last noisy tool result wins.
Evacuating a plane: crew instructions, then passengers, then magazines.
Visual Workflows
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Overview
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This turn
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Evacuating a plane: crew instructions, then passengers, then magazines.
Key Takeaways
- 1.When the budget is tight, priority decides who stays.
- 2.Typical rank: live user, system policy, required tools, current task ids, then memory, then RAG, then traces.
- 3.Write the rank as config so it is reviewable.
- 4.Do not let recency of chat outrank a hard constraint.
- 5.Without an explicit rank, the last noisy tool result wins.
Real Example
Scenario
Priority: pack only what this turn needs.
What you would do
In Context Engineering, apply Context Prioritization to this scenario: Priority: pack only what this turn needs. Identify the inputs, run the technique, validate the output, and note one thing you would monitor in production.
Commands
Commands to Remember
When the budget is tight, priority decides who staysTypical rank: live user, system policy, required tools, current task ids, then memory, then RAG, then tracesWrite the rank as config so it is reviewableDo not let recency of chat outrank a hard constraint
Cheat Sheet
Quick recap
quick ref- •Priority
- •Budget
- •Don't dump
Common Mistakes
- ✕Skipping evaluation for Context Prioritization before production
- ✕No logging or tracing around context prioritization steps
- ✕Ignoring cost and latency implications