System prompt, context and compaction

Every turn sends the model more than your message: DataMind Oda's instructions, the context it gathered, and, in a long chat, a summary of the older conversation. Oda records all of it, and this page shows what each record holds, the labels it uses, and where it stays available.

Where the records are kept

• In a chat, these records are background material: the system prompt and context records are not shown among the message rows, in any Work details mode.
• The process rows themselves, and what each Work details mode changes, are on Work details and process folding.
• The records stay with the chat all the same: the Trajectory view replays them from the chat's recorded session, and the session log file holds them in full.
• A compaction is the exception: it leaves its own marker in the conversation, covered below.

The System prompt card

• The instructions the model receives are recorded as a card titled System prompt.
• Expanding the card shows one complete prompt: the raw text as it was sent, kept in a read-only block that scrolls, with its real line breaks and no reformatting. It is a record, not a message: it never appears as a chat bubble.
• When the instructions change and the new text is added to an ongoing chat, the record reads System prompt update. It sits at its own point in the history, and earlier records keep their place and their text.
• Very long text is cut to a readable length and ends with a note giving the full size: … truncated, {total} characters total.

Context injections and session recall

• Records of what Oda added to a request beyond your words are titled Context injection; material from an earlier chat you pointed Oda at is titled Session recall.
• A collapsed record names what produced it (a skill, a workspace file or an earlier chat, for example) and adds a one-line summary when one was recorded.
• An expanded record has one of six forms: instructions, a catalog, a snapshot, a notice, a relay or a recall.
• Instructions show which workspace files were loaded, added, updated or removed; a catalog shows the skills on offer; a snapshot reads as a summary of the situation and notes that it supersedes earlier snapshots.
• A notice is shown as it was recorded; a relay names the chat it was passed on from; a recall shows what an earlier chat contributed, with counts of what was kept and left out and a note when the list was shortened.
• If any part of a record cannot be read, the whole record falls back to plain text instead of showing a half-filled list.
• A part Oda does not recognise is shown in a plain block labelled Unknown content block instead of being dropped.
• A catalog stops at 200 entries and adds +N more for the rest.

Compaction markers

When a long chat no longer fits the model's reading space, Oda shortens its older part, on its own or when you run /compact, and leaves a marker in the conversation.

• The marker is titled Context compacted. While the compaction runs, the row reads Compacting context…; once Oda records what the compaction covered, the marker adds the line Compacted {items} history items (~{tokens} tokens).
• View compaction summary opens the summary the marker stands for. It opens only when the part of the record that holds the summary is loaded; until then the control reads Compaction summary unavailable.
• The marker is a note, not a replacement: a compaction changes what is sent to the model, not what the chat keeps.
• The two counts draw on the chat's token figures; Token usage and context pressure explains what they measure.

Questions, answered

Where can I see the system prompt Oda sent?

It is not among the chat's message rows: the system prompt stays in the chat's recorded session. The Trajectory view can show it, and the session log file holds it.

What does System prompt update mean?

The instructions Oda sends can change while a chat continues. When that happens, a new record is added, titled System prompt update, at that point in the history. Earlier System prompt records keep their place and their text; nothing already recorded is rewritten.

What is a Context injection?

It is a record of material Oda added to a request beyond your words, such as workspace instructions or a skill list. Collapsed, the record names what produced it and adds a one-line summary when one was recorded; opening it shows the material itself.

What is a Session recall?

It is a record of material from an earlier chat you pointed Oda at. The record names the reference, and opening it shows what that chat contributed, with counts of what was kept and left out.

Why does a record show plain text instead of its usual form?

When a record cannot be laid out form by form, for example because a part of it cannot be read, Oda does not guess: the whole record is shown as plain text instead of a half-filled list. This also keeps records from older or resumed chats readable.

What does … truncated, {total} characters total mean?

The text in the record was longer than the readable block, so it was cut, and the note gives its full length. The chat's record keeps the full text.

Why does a skill list say +N more?

A catalog is shown up to 200 entries, and +N more counts the rest. Nothing is dropped from the chat's record.

What does the Context compacted marker mean?

Oda shortened the older part of the chat for the model, so it could carry on within the model's reading space. The marker shows where that happened. The chat keeps its record of the messages; a compaction changes what is sent to the model. For why compacting happens, see Chat with Oda.

Why can't I open a compaction summary?

The control expands only when the part of the record that holds the summary is loaded. Until then it reads Compaction summary unavailable.

What does Unknown content block mean?

A part of a record that Oda cannot lay out in its usual form is shown in a plain block, labelled Unknown content block, instead of being dropped. The rest of the record is unaffected.