KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT FOR AGENTS

EXTERNAL NOTES AND SCRATCHPADS THE AGENT MAINTAINS Sometimes an agent should write down its own working knowledge as it goes. A scratchpad is a file or note that the agent writes to and reads from during a task to record intermediate thoughts, progress, and discoveries outside its limited context window. Think of how you jot down a to-do list or keep notes while researching a project. Notes extend your memory and keep you from repeating yourself. For an agent, a notes file offers several benefits. It survives context compaction. When older messages are summarized or dropped, the notes remain intact, so important details are not lost. It prevents wasted repetition. An agent researching a complex topic might keep a running sources_found.md file listing which sources it has already checked and what it learned from each, so it does not waste time searching the same ground twice. It supports long tasks. For a task spanning many steps or sessions, a progress file listing completed steps and next steps lets the agent resume reliably. It is inspectable. Humans can read the notes to understand what the agent is doing and to correct mistakes. Good scratchpad habits include the following. Keep the notes structured, with headings such as Done, In Progress, and Open Questions. Date and attribute entries when it matters. Keep the file short enough to re-read cheaply, and periodically tidy it by removing the obsolete parts. Do not store secrets in notes, because notes are files that others might read. Be aware that notes are also a place where bad information can accumulate and persist. If the agent writes a wrong conclusion in its notes and then trusts its notes in later steps, the error compounds. So ask the agent to mark uncertain items as unverified, and let verification steps double-check key claims.