Context Window
Tokens are the units used to measure context capacity.
A context window is the token capacity available for a model’s current interaction. It limits how much supplied information and generated content can fit in that interaction, according to the model and service’s accounting rules.
[Anthropic]In practice
An assistant loads a relevant page from a long manual instead of placing the entire manual in an already crowded conversation.
[Anthropic]A little deeper
Instructions, conversation history, and tool results can consume context. Information stored elsewhere is not automatically visible to a model just because the application retained it. [Anthropic]
A common mix-up
A larger context window is permanent memory.
Context capacity and storage across sessions serve different purposes. [Anthropic]
Helpful to know: Token