CONTEXT_CACHE_USAGE_REPORT.md

# Context Cache Usage Report

## Executive Summary

This report analyzes how agents and components access interaction, session, and user contexts. The analysis confirms that agents use cache-only context, but identifies one area where session context generation queries the database directly (which is acceptable since it only runs at session end).

## Context Access Flow

### 1. Context Retrieval Pattern

**Orchestrator → Context Manager → Cache → Agents**

```
orchestrator.process_request()
  └─> _get_or_create_context()
       └─> context_manager.manage_context()
            ├─> Check session_cache (cache-first)
            ├─> Check user_cache (cache-first)
            ├─> Only queries DB if cache miss
            └─> Returns cached context to orchestrator
                 └─> Passes to agents
```

### 2. Cache-Only Access Verification

All agents receive context from orchestrator, which gets it from cache:

#### Intent Agent (`src/agents/intent_agent.py`)
- **Context Source**: From orchestrator (line 201-204)
- **Context Access**: 
  - Uses `combined_context` (pre-formatted from cache)
  - Falls back to `interaction_contexts` and `user_context` from cache
  - **Status**: ✅ Cache-only

#### Skills Identification Agent (`src/agents/skills_identification_agent.py`)
- **Context Source**: From orchestrator (line 218-221)
- **Context Access**:
  - Uses `user_context` from cache (line 230)
  - Uses `interaction_contexts` from cache (line 231)
  - **Status**: ✅ Cache-only

#### Synthesis Agent (`src/agents/synthesis_agent.py`)
- **Context Source**: From orchestrator (line 283-287)
- **Context Access**:
  - Uses `interaction_contexts` from cache (lines 299, 358, 550)
  - Uses `user_context` from cache (implied in context dict)
  - **Status**: ✅ Cache-only

#### Safety Agent (`src/agents/safety_agent.py`)
- **Context Source**: From orchestrator (line 314-317)
- **Context Access**:
  - Uses `user_context` from cache (line 158)
  - Uses `interaction_contexts` from cache (line 163)
  - **Status**: ✅ Cache-only

## Context Manager Cache Behavior

### Session Context (Interaction Contexts)

**Location**: `src/context_manager.py` - `manage_context()` (lines 235-289)

**Cache Strategy**:
1. **Check cache first** (line 247): `session_context = self._get_from_memory_cache(session_cache_key)`
2. **Query database only if cache miss** (line 260-262): Only when `not session_context`
3. **Cache immediately after DB query** (line 265): Warm cache with fresh data
4. **Update cache synchronously** (line 444): When interaction context generated, cache updated immediately via `_update_cache_with_interaction_context()`

**Result**: ✅ **Cache-first, DB only on miss**

### User Context

**Location**: `src/context_manager.py` - `manage_context()` (lines 267-281)

**Cache Strategy**:
1. **Check cache first** (line 258): `user_context = self._get_from_memory_cache(user_cache_key)`
2. **Query database only if not cached** (line 269): `if not user_context or not user_context.get("user_context_loaded")`
3. **Cache after first load** (line 277): `self._warm_memory_cache(user_cache_key, user_context)`
4. **Never queries DB again** (line 279-281): Uses cached user context for all subsequent requests

**Result**: ✅ **Load once, cache forever (no DB queries after initial load)**

### Interaction Contexts

**Location**: `src/context_manager.py` - `_update_cache_with_interaction_context()` (lines 770-809)

**Cache Strategy**:
1. **Updated synchronously with database** (line 444): Called immediately after DB insert
2. **Adds to cached list** (line 788): Updates in-memory cache without DB query
3. **Maintains most recent 20** (line 789): Matches database query limit

**Result**: ✅ **Cache updated when DB updated, no DB query needed**

## Session Context Analysis

### Session Context Generation

**Location**: `src/context_manager.py` - `generate_session_context()` (lines 463-532)

**Purpose**: Generate 100-token summary of entire session for long-term user persona building

**When Called**: Only at session end via `end_session()` (line 540)

**Database Access**:
- ✅ **Queries database directly** (lines 469-479) to get all interaction contexts for session
- **Why This Is Acceptable**:
  1. Only called once per session (at end)
  2. Not used by agents during conversation
  3. Used for generating user persona summary (long-term context)
  4. Cache doesn't need to maintain full session summary during conversation

**Result**: ✅ **Acceptable - Only runs at session end, not during conversation**

### Session Context Usage

**Finding**: Session context is **NOT used by agents during conversation**.

**Evidence**:
- No agent accesses `session_context` or `session_summary` fields
- Session context is only used for generating user persona (`get_user_context()`)
- User persona is generated from session contexts across all sessions (line 326)

**Current Usage**:
1. Generated at session end (`generate_session_context()`)
2. Stored in `session_contexts` table
3. Retrieved when generating user persona (`get_user_context()` line 326)
4. User persona is cached after first load (lines 277-281)

**Recommendation**: ✅ **Current usage is correct - session context should not be accessed during conversation**

## Cache Update Synchronization

### Interaction Context Updates

**Location**: `src/context_manager.py` - `generate_interaction_context()` (lines 422-447)

**Flow**:
1. Generate interaction summary via LLM
2. Store in database (line 427-438)
3. **Immediately update cache** (line 444): `_update_cache_with_interaction_context()`
4. Cache contains new interaction context before next request

**Result**: ✅ **Cache and database synchronized at write time**

## Verification Summary

### ✅ All Agents Use Cache-Only Context

| Agent | Context Source | Access Method | Cache-Only? |
|-------|---------------|---------------|-------------|
| Intent Agent | Orchestrator | `combined_context`, `interaction_contexts`, `user_context` | ✅ Yes |
| Skills Agent | Orchestrator | `user_context`, `interaction_contexts` | ✅ Yes |
| Synthesis Agent | Orchestrator | `interaction_contexts`, `user_context` | ✅ Yes |
| Safety Agent | Orchestrator | `user_context`, `interaction_contexts` | ✅ Yes |

### ✅ Context Manager Cache Strategy

| Context Type | Cache Strategy | DB Queries |
|-------------|----------------|------------|
| Interaction Contexts | Cache-first, updated on write | Only on cache miss |
| User Context | Load once, cache forever | Only on first load |
| Session Context | Generated at session end | Only at session end (acceptable) |

### ✅ Cache Synchronization

| Operation | Cache Update | Timing |
|-----------|--------------|--------|
| Interaction Context Generated | ✅ Immediate | Same time as DB write |
| Session Context Generated | ✅ Not needed | Only at session end |
| User Context Loaded | ✅ Immediate | After first DB query |

## Findings

### ✅ Correct Behaviors

1. **Agents receive context from cache**: All agents get context from orchestrator, which retrieves from cache
2. **Cache-first retrieval**: Context manager checks cache before querying database
3. **User context cached forever**: Loaded once, never queries database again
4. **Interaction contexts updated synchronously**: Cache updated when database is updated
5. **Session context properly scoped**: Only generated at session end, not used during conversation

### ⚠️ Session Context Notes

1. **Session context generation queries database**: `generate_session_context()` directly queries `interaction_contexts` table (lines 473-479)
   - **Status**: ✅ Acceptable - Only called at session end
   - **Impact**: None - Not used during conversation flow
   - **Recommendation**: No change needed

2. **Session context not in cache during conversation**: Session summaries are not cached during conversation
   - **Status**: ✅ Correct behavior
   - **Reason**: Session summaries are 100-token summaries of entire session, not needed during conversation
   - **Usage**: Only used for generating user persona (long-term context)

## Recommendations

### ✅ No Changes Needed

All agents and components correctly use cache-only context during conversation. The only database query during conversation flow is:
- Initial cache miss (acceptable - only happens once per session or on cache expiration)
- User context first load (acceptable - only happens once per user)

Session context generation queries database, but this is acceptable because:
1. Only runs at session end
2. Not used by agents during conversation
3. Used for long-term user persona building

## Conclusion

**Status**: ✅ **All agents and components correctly use cache-only context**

The system follows a cache-first strategy where:
- Context is retrieved from cache
- Database is only queried on cache miss (first request or cache expiration)
- Cache is updated immediately when database is updated
- User context is loaded once and cached forever
- Session context generation is properly scoped (session end only)

No changes required - system is working as designed.