A context window is the maximum amount of information a model can process in one request. It normally includes system instructions, messages, tool definitions, documents, images represented as tokens, and the generated response.
The context window is not permanent memory. Most APIs require the application to resend any history that the model should consider. As a conversation grows, the application may need to drop old turns, summarize them, or retrieve only relevant facts.
Do not fill the entire window with input. Leave room for the answer and for any tool results added later. A large advertised window does not guarantee equal attention to every token. Test whether the model can find and use important details across realistic long prompts.
This answer doesn't lend itself to a diagram - it reads best . No credits were charged.
Why there's no diagram: “”
The interactive diagram is below the answer - jump to diagram ↓ · Below it, the related concept . Jump to it ↓
The diagram below the answer is the concept . Jump to it ↓