Shared vs. Separate Context

The first dimension of design: whether context is shared.

Shared Context – subsequent agent inherits the full trajectory of the predecessor (new role, but all memory): zero information loss, but context grows rapidly.
Separate Context – each agent has an independent trajectory, exchange via explicit mechanisms: modularity, isolation, parallelism, but synchronization is needed.

OS Analogy: shared context – threads (shared memory, no isolation), separate – processes.

Heuristic: accumulated context >50% of window → separate; zero loss is critical → shared.