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Merged
angiejones merged 4 commits into from
Jun 3, 2025
Merged

cli(config): Add GOOSE_CONTEXT_STRATEGY setting #2666

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01c594a
Add GOOSE_CONTEXT_STRATEGY setting
dbraduan May 26, 2025
8fce805
Merge branch 'main' into dbraduan/default-context-strategy
michaelneale May 27, 2025
49afb24
Merge branch 'main' into dbraduan/default-context-strategy
michaelneale Jun 2, 2025
695e137
Merge branch 'main' into dbraduan/default-context-strategy
dbraduan Jun 3, 2025
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108 changes: 60 additions & 48 deletions crates/goose-cli/src/session/mod.rs
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -774,56 +774,68 @@ impl Session {
} else if let Some(MessageContent::ContextLengthExceeded(_)) = message.content.first() {
output::hide_thinking();

if interactive {
// In interactive mode, ask the user what to do
let prompt = "The model's context length is maxed out. You will need to reduce the # msgs. Do you want to?".to_string();
let selected_result = cliclack::select(prompt)
.item("clear", "Clear Session", "Removes all messages from Goose's memory")
.item("truncate", "Truncate Messages", "Removes old messages till context is within limits")
.item("summarize", "Summarize Session", "Summarize the session to reduce context length")
.item("cancel", "Cancel", "Cancel and return to chat")
.interact();

let selected = match selected_result {
Ok(s) => s,
Err(e) => {
if e.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::Interrupted {
"cancel" // If interrupted, set selected to cancel
} else {
return Err(e.into());
}
}
};

match selected {
"clear" => {
self.messages.clear();
let msg = format!("Session cleared.\n{}", "-".repeat(50));
output::render_text(&msg, Some(Color::Yellow), true);
break; // exit the loop to hand back control to the user
}
"truncate" => {
// Truncate messages to fit within context length
let (truncated_messages, _) = self.agent.truncate_context(&self.messages).await?;
let msg = format!("Context maxed out\n{}\nGoose tried its best to truncate messages for you.", "-".repeat(50));
output::render_text("", Some(Color::Yellow), true);
output::render_text(&msg, Some(Color::Yellow), true);
self.messages = truncated_messages;
}
"summarize" => {
// Use the helper function to summarize context
Self::summarize_context_messages(&mut self.messages, &self.agent, "Goose summarized messages for you.").await?;
}
"cancel" => {
break; // Return to main prompt
}
_ => {
unreachable!()
// Check for user-configured default context strategy
let config = Config::global();
let context_strategy = config.get_param::<String>("GOOSE_CONTEXT_STRATEGY")
.unwrap_or_else(|_| if interactive { "prompt".to_string() } else { "summarize".to_string() });

let selected = match context_strategy.as_str() {
"clear" => "clear",
"truncate" => "truncate",
"summarize" => "summarize",
_ => {
if interactive {
// In interactive mode with no default, ask the user what to do
let prompt = "The model's context length is maxed out. You will need to reduce the # msgs. Do you want to?".to_string();
cliclack::select(prompt)
.item("clear", "Clear Session", "Removes all messages from Goose's memory")
.item("truncate", "Truncate Messages", "Removes old messages till context is within limits")
.item("summarize", "Summarize Session", "Summarize the session to reduce context length")
.interact()?
} else {
// In headless mode, default to summarize
"summarize"
}
}
} else {
// In headless mode (goose run), automatically use summarize
Self::summarize_context_messages(&mut self.messages, &self.agent, "Goose automatically summarized messages to continue processing.").await?;
};

match selected {
"clear" => {
self.messages.clear();
let msg = if context_strategy == "clear" {
format!("Context maxed out - automatically cleared session.\n{}", "-".repeat(50))
} else {
format!("Session cleared.\n{}", "-".repeat(50))
};
output::render_text(&msg, Some(Color::Yellow), true);
break; // exit the loop to hand back control to the user
}
"truncate" => {
// Truncate messages to fit within context length
let (truncated_messages, _) = self.agent.truncate_context(&self.messages).await?;
let msg = if context_strategy == "truncate" {
format!("Context maxed out - automatically truncated messages.\n{}\nGoose tried its best to truncate messages for you.", "-".repeat(50))
} else {
format!("Context maxed out\n{}\nGoose tried its best to truncate messages for you.", "-".repeat(50))
};
output::render_text("", Some(Color::Yellow), true);
output::render_text(&msg, Some(Color::Yellow), true);
self.messages = truncated_messages;
}
"summarize" => {
// Use the helper function to summarize context
let message_suffix = if context_strategy == "summarize" {
"Goose automatically summarized messages for you."
} else if interactive {
"Goose summarized messages for you."
} else {
"Goose automatically summarized messages to continue processing."
};
Self::summarize_context_messages(&mut self.messages, &self.agent, message_suffix).await?;
}
_ => {
unreachable!()
}
}

// Restart the stream after handling ContextLengthExceeded
Expand Down
18 changes: 18 additions & 0 deletions documentation/docs/guides/environment-variables.md
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -62,6 +62,24 @@ export GOOSE_PLANNER_PROVIDER="openai"
export GOOSE_PLANNER_MODEL="gpt-4"
```

## Session Management

These variables control how Goose manages conversation sessions and context.

| Variable | Purpose | Values | Default |
|----------|---------|---------|---------|
| `GOOSE_CONTEXT_STRATEGY` | Controls how Goose handles context limit exceeded situations | "summarize", "truncate", "clear", "prompt" | "prompt" (interactive), "summarize" (headless) |

**Examples**

```bash
# Automatically summarize when context limit is reached
export GOOSE_CONTEXT_STRATEGY=summarize

# Always prompt user to choose (default for interactive mode)
export GOOSE_CONTEXT_STRATEGY=prompt
```

## Tool Configuration

These variables control how Goose handles [tool permissions](/docs/guides/tool-permissions) and their execution.
Expand Down
45 changes: 43 additions & 2 deletions documentation/docs/guides/smart-context-management.md
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -58,10 +58,33 @@ You can proactively summarize your conversation before reaching context limits:

The CLI offers three context management options: summarize, truncate, or clear your session.

### Default Context Strategy

You can configure Goose to automatically handle context limits without prompting by setting the `GOOSE_CONTEXT_STRATEGY` environment variable:

```bash
# Set default strategy (choose one)
export GOOSE_CONTEXT_STRATEGY=summarize # Automatically summarize (recommended)
export GOOSE_CONTEXT_STRATEGY=truncate # Automatically remove oldest messages
export GOOSE_CONTEXT_STRATEGY=clear # Automatically clear session
export GOOSE_CONTEXT_STRATEGY=prompt # Always prompt user (default)
```

Or configure it permanently:
```bash
goose configure set GOOSE_CONTEXT_STRATEGY summarize
```

**Default behavior:**
- **Interactive mode**: Prompts user to choose (equivalent to `prompt`)
- **Headless mode** (`goose run`): Automatically summarizes (equivalent to `summarize`)

<Tabs>
<TabItem value="automatic" label="Automatic" default>

When you hit the context limit, you'll see this prompt to choose a management option, allowing you to continue your session:
When you hit the context limit, the behavior depends on your configuration:

**With default settings (no `GOOSE_CONTEXT_STRATEGY` set)**, you'll see this prompt to choose a management option:

```sh
◇ The model's context length is maxed out. You will need to reduce the # msgs. Do you want to?
Expand All @@ -76,6 +99,24 @@ final_summary: [A summary of your conversation will appear here]
Context maxed out
--------------------------------------------------
Goose summarized messages for you.
```

**With `GOOSE_CONTEXT_STRATEGY` configured**, Goose will automatically apply your chosen strategy:

```sh
# Example with GOOSE_CONTEXT_STRATEGY=summarize
Context maxed out - automatically summarized messages.
--------------------------------------------------
Goose automatically summarized messages for you.

# Example with GOOSE_CONTEXT_STRATEGY=truncate
Context maxed out - automatically truncated messages.
--------------------------------------------------
Goose tried its best to truncate messages for you.

# Example with GOOSE_CONTEXT_STRATEGY=clear
Context maxed out - automatically cleared session.
--------------------------------------------------
```

</TabItem>
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -118,4 +159,4 @@ Key information has been preserved while reducing context length.
This functionality is not available in the Goose CLI.

</TabItem>
</Tabs>
</Tabs>
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