Shawn Hartsock

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How agent-frame assists context
Newt has two ways of managing context. The default one, compaction, does not use agent-frame. The opt-in smart harness does: it records the session as content-addressed events, lets a small model propose what to keep, lets the host decide what is allowed, and renders the request from the result. Both stand on the same content-addressing crate.
~5 min read
By Shawn Hartsock (commissioned) AI-drafted


Unreviewed draft. The author has not yet signed off on this text.


  

    



  

    

    
  

  

  

  

  

    
    
    
    
  

  
Names are from agent-frame/, agent-harness/, newt-core/src/agentic/smart_harness.rs and content_spill.rs. Smart mode is opt-in and experimental. Keys: left/right arrows step, space plays or pauses.











Going further



The default path is on the Context page. The design that would join the two is on the Paged context page.



What each stage maps to




  
    

      Stage
      What it does
      Where
      Status
    

  
  
    

      Shared foundation
      content-addressable: ContentId and RawContentId.
      agent-frame/src/
      Implemented
    

    

      Compaction spill
      SpillCid wraps a ContentId; summaries cite source turns. No agent-frame.
      newt-core/src/agentic/content_spill.rs
      Implemented
    

    

      Session recording
      Root and Observation events in a FrameStore.
      agent-harness/src/session.rs
      Implemented
    

    

      Elision and verify
      Elide unit; verify_unit recomputes from bytes.
      agent-frame/src/verify.rs
      Implemented (elide only)
    

    

      Context proposal
      Auxiliary model proposes ids to retain.
      newt-core/src/agentic/smart_harness.rs
      Implemented, experimental
    

    

      Host validation
      Candidate-only, pinned kept, no split exchange, byte budget.
      agent-harness/src/navigation.rs
      Implemented
    

    

      Projection
      Ordered entries rendered to a request.
      agent-harness/src/projection.rs
      Implemented
    

    

      Forensics
      Navigation and overflow events are inspectable.
      agent-harness/src/forensics.rs
      Implemented
    

    

      Paged context
      A pager serving faults from the graph.
      docs/design/infinite-context-illusion.md
      Design only
    

  




What this does not show



    
  
  • Compaction, the default, does not run on agent-frame. Only the smart harness does, and it is opt-in and experimental.
    • 
  
  • Measured quality is thin: an installed 0.5B auxiliary produced no valid verdicts with the initial protocol, and an external model’s 8 of 8 covers eight curated fixtures. Neither shows general quality.
    • 
  
  • The host check guarantees legality (budget, pinned inputs, intact tool exchanges), not that the model chose the best context.
    • 
  
  • A content id proves bytes hash to a name. It does not prove an agent may read them, and a verified elision proves provenance, not truth.
    • 
  
  • Only elision is minted in v0. Concise and Generate exist in the type and are refused.
    • 
  
  • A projection replays the host’s request. It makes no claim about what a provider does inside.
    • 




Source: newt-agent site/frame.html at 67b24697. newt-agent is Apache-2.0: Gilamonster Foundation / newt-agent.


  


  


  
Revisions

  
    
    
  •  · claude-sonnet-5-5 · Moved from newt-agent site/frame.html at 67b24697; prose converted to Markdown, animation text moved to copy.
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