Let the agent gather context
Give the agent tools and a clear goal and it fetches its own context, exactly what it needs.
1One task, two ways to feed it context. Tap a file to paste it, which window fills with junk?your turn
the taskfix the failing auth test
paste it by hand
give a goal + tools
grep"failing auth test"found
readauth/login.test.ts+600
readauth/login.ts+1200
runnpm test auth+180
paste it by hand
on-taskpaste a file →
goal + tools1,980 tok
on-task100%
Tap a file on the left to paste it. Blue files are on-task; red files are filler the model just reads past.
→ continue← backR replay
But every fetch spends tokens, so awareness of the budget starts to matter.
6.10 Token awareness & the economicsCommon questions
What is "Let the agent gather context" about?
Give the agent tools and a clear goal and it fetches its own context, exactly what it needs.
What problem does it solve?
You paste files, errors, and docs by hand every time, tedious, and you guess wrong half the time.
What will I be able to do after this lesson?
You can explain why letting an agent retrieve its own context often beats pasting it by hand, and when each wins.
What comes next?
But every fetch spends tokens, so awareness of the budget starts to matter.