Context window
Bağlam penceresi
D3
A context window is the finite amount of input context a particular model interface can use for a request or conversation state.
Review status: 2026-11-26
Technical explanation
Its available capacity is shared by the system instruction, accumulated conversation history, and current input.
Conceptual boundaries
A context window is a capacity limit, and input, generated output, and reasoning tokens can share its available budget in the cited Azure interface.
Provider-neutral example
A team can shorten older conversation turns before adding selected documents so the current request fits the model’s available context window.
Limitations
In the cited Microsoft API, the application must manage this finite capacity because the API does not automatically truncate or summarize conversation history.
Related concepts
Atomic claims and evidence
1.1Microsoft Learn, Best practices for the Phi Silica LanguageModel API
- Source
- Microsoft Learn, Best practices for the Phi Silica LanguageModel API
- Source role
- Authoritative source
- Exact locator
- Managing Context Length: finite shared context window for system prompt, history, and current prompt
- Supported claim
- Microsoft documents that a language-model context has a finite window shared by the system prompt, accumulated conversation history, and the current prompt.
- Last verification
- Review due
- Scope limitation
- This is product documentation for a Microsoft language-model API and does not prescribe a universal context-window implementation.
2.1Microsoft Learn, Foundry Models sold by Azure — model token limits
- Source
- Microsoft Learn, Foundry Models sold by Azure — model token limits
- Source role
- Authoritative source
- Exact locator
- Understand model token limits: input, generated output, and reasoning tokens share the available context budget
- Supported claim
- Azure Foundry documents a shared context budget in which input, generated output, and reasoning tokens use the available capacity.
- Last verification
- Review due
- Scope limitation
- This is provider-specific Azure Foundry documentation and does not prescribe a universal model limit.