Memory is an information policy
Long-running agents need more than a larger context window. They need to know what is temporary, what is durable, what is retrievable and what must be deleted.
Four useful layers
Keep current task state separate from durable facts, searchable documents and audit records. Summarize completed work at natural boundaries, attach provenance and define retention rules.
Quality and compliance
Test retrieval after compaction, let users correct memories and remove sensitive data. A memory system should improve consistency without turning every old mistake into a permanent instruction.