What is context engineering for AI agents? (ANSWERED)
Prompt engineering focuses on instruction wording. **Context engineering** focuses on the full state fed to the model each step: policies, repository maps, retrieved files, prior tool outputs, memories, and task specs.
TL;DR — Quick Answer
Context engineering is the discipline of selecting, structuring, and budgeting everything the agent sees — system policy, AGENTS.md, retrieved code, tool results, memory — not just writing a clever prompt.
The Interview Question
Define context engineering and explain how it differs from prompt engineering for coding agents. What goes into an agent's context window?
Deep Explanation
Prompt engineering focuses on instruction wording. Context engineering focuses on the full state fed to the model each step: policies, repository maps, retrieved files, prior tool outputs, memories, and task specs.
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