# CONTEXT_TIERS.md — Cortex Dispatcher Loading Spec

This file defines which Inara context files to inject into a session based on the target model's
context window. The dispatcher reads this to decide what to prepend.

---

## Tier 1 — Minimal (~1,500 tokens)

**Target:** Local models with ~8k context or less (Qwen 8B small, etc.)

**Load:**
- `SOUL.md`
- `IDENTITY.md`
- `USER.md` — first 30 lines only (identity + what he cares about)

**Notes:** Just enough for Inara to know who she is and who Scott is.

---

## Tier 2 — Standard (~5,000 tokens)

**Target:** Models with 16k–32k context (Haiku, Gemini Flash, Qwen 8B full)

**Load:**
- `SOUL.md`
- `IDENTITY.md`
- `USER.md` — full
- `MEMORY.md`
- `PROTOCOLS.md`

**Notes:** Full operational context. Sufficient for most routine tasks and conversations.

---

## Tier 3 — Extended (~15,000 tokens)

**Target:** Models with 32k–128k context (Sonnet, Gemini Pro, Qwen 14B, Qwen 30B)

**Load:**
- Everything in Tier 2
- `~/agents_sync/aether/docs/FLEET_MANIFEST.md`
- Most recent 2 session files from `sessions/`
- Relevant project doc (e.g., `CORTEX.md`) if task is project-related

---

## Tier 4 — Full (50,000+ tokens)

**Target:** Frontier models with 200k+ context (Claude Opus/Sonnet, Gemini 2.5 Pro)

**Load:**
- Everything in Tier 3
- Last 5–7 session files
- Full project docs as relevant
- `~/agents_sync/aether/docs/api_v3.md` if task involves Aether API

---

## Hard Rules

- `SOUL.md` and `IDENTITY.md` are **always** loaded, regardless of tier.
- **Never inject:** `.env` files, `TOOLS.md` (contains credentials), raw session logs older than 30 days.
- **MEMORY.md must stay under 4,000 tokens** — enforce this during distillation.
- When in doubt, use Tier 2. Over-loading small models degrades output quality.