Memory Bloat
Accumulated stored context that is no longer relevant but still gets retrieved, increasing noise and cost. The memory-layer equivalent of Prompt Bloat.
Memory Bloat is what happens when a memory system stores everything and never cleans up. Old decisions that were reversed, temporary workarounds that were replaced, debugging notes from resolved issues, and experimental approaches that were abandoned — all sitting in memory, potentially being retrieved alongside current, relevant facts. Memory Bloat degrades Recall Precision and increases cost, because the system has to process and filter stale information on every retrieval.
More in Memory & State
Context Anxiety
The dread of re-explaining everything every session because the system has no persistent memory.
Ghost Knowledge
Facts that exist in the system but can't be traced to an author or source.
Context Rot
Deterioration of an agent's understanding over time due to limited memory and compaction.
State Loss
Failure to maintain awareness of prior actions.
Context Continuity
Seamless persistence of knowledge across sessions — the user never re-explains. The cure for Context Anxiety.
Memory Fidelity
The accuracy and completeness of what a system retains over time. The opposite of Context Rot.
Provenance Clarity
Every fact in the system is traceable to its author, source, and reasoning. The cure for Ghost Knowledge.
Recall Precision
The system retrieves exactly the right context at the right time — no noise, no gaps.