FIELD NOTE / X
A handoff packet needs an invariant, not just a summary.
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A handoff packet needs an invariant, not just a summary.
Video caption
A handoff packet needs an invariant, not just a summary. A valid-looking schema is not authority by itself. Do this because context volume is not control. #EricFieldNotes
Full written post / accessibility read
Agent-to-agent messaging can keep work moving, but a short instruction is a poor carrier for a consequential decision. I would attach a small packet with the original source, exact invariant, unresolved uncertainty, owner and expiry.
The downstream agent may receive a complete packet whose decision has been superseded. It can obey perfectly and act wrongly. Schema validation catches missing fields; version and source checks catch stale or mismatched authority.
Before a consequential tool call, the host looks up packet source ID, version and owner in a protected decision store. Then a monitor compares the receiver's readback with that current constraint. An invented ID or stale version fails lookup; fluent paraphrase alone cannot grant permission.
Inject only the relevant current constraint, verify source and owner outside the worker, then test what the worker understood. If lookup or readback fails, stop the tool action and ask the owner.
#EricFieldNotes
Four-beat scene transcript
1. A handoff packet needs an invariant, not just a summary.
Agent-to-agent messaging can keep work moving, but a short instruction is a poor carrier for a consequential decision. I would attach a small packet with the original source, exact invariant, unresolved uncertainty, owner and expiry.
Visual: Source, owner, uncertainty and expiry must survive.
2. A well-written packet can still be stale.
The downstream agent may receive a complete packet whose decision has been superseded. It can obey perfectly and act wrongly. Schema validation catches missing fields; version and source checks catch stale or mismatched authority.
Visual: A valid-looking schema is not authority by itself.
3. Require source lookup and readback.
Before a consequential tool call, the host looks up packet source ID, version and owner in a protected decision store. Then a monitor compares the receiver's readback with that current constraint. An invented ID or stale version fails lookup; fluent paraphrase alone cannot grant permission.
Visual: A paraphrase shows understanding, not authority.
4. Keep the packet small and testable.
Inject only the relevant current constraint, verify source and owner outside the worker, then test what the worker understood. If lookup or readback fails, stop the tool action and ask the owner.
Visual: Do this because context volume is not control.
Research and claim limits
- OpenAI Agents SDK sessions (S53)
- LangGraph persistence (S54)
- OpenAI Agents SDK: handoffs (S170)
The examples identified as illustrative or simulated are design probes, not reported incidents. Vendor specifications do not establish workload performance.