Artifacts Are Compression: How Systems Handle Complexity

Core Question

How do systems avoid being overwhelmed by context?

Main Idea

Artifacts compress information into usable forms.

Key Points

Properties of Artifacts

Parallel

Passing raw context to an agent is like asking a developer to build from unstructured conversations.

Insight

Artifacts are not documentation — they are operational necessity

Hook

“If your system depends on full context, it is already broken.”

Transition

Artifacts only work because they move through structured systems.