Agent bootcamp week4

agents/30-days-of-agents/context-engineering.mdx

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+---
+title: "Week 4: Context Engineering - Building Intelligent Information Systems"
+sidebarTitle: "Context Engineering"
+description:
+  "Master the art of context engineering - building dynamic systems that provide
+  the right information and tools in the right format to enable agents to
+  accomplish complex tasks effectively."
+---
+
+![Agents Bootcamp: Context Engineering - Week 4](/images/agents/30-days-of-agents/bootcamp-week-4.png)
+
+Welcome to Week 4! You've mastered agent fundamentals, built custom agents, and
+specialized in domain-specific applications. Now you'll dive deep into **context
+engineering** - the critical discipline of designing systems that provide agents
+with the right information, tools, and context to accomplish complex tasks
+effectively.
+
+Context engineering is what separates basic chatbots from truly intelligent
+agents that can reason about complex problems and take meaningful actions.
+
+## What's context engineering?
+
+**Context engineering** is the process of building dynamic systems to provide
+the right information and tools in the right format such that language models
+can plausibly accomplish complex tasks. Context engineering is the bridge
+between raw data and actionable intelligence.
+
+Context engineering encompasses:
+
+- **Prompt Engineering**: Crafting instructions that guide agent behavior and
+  reasoning
+- **Retrieval & RAG**: Connecting agents to relevant, real-time information
+  sources
+- **Tool Use**: Enabling agents to interact with external systems and APIs
+- **Memory & State**: Managing conversation history and maintaining context
+  across interactions
+- **Structured Outputs**: Ensuring agents produce reliable, formatted responses
+- **Information Architecture**: Organizing knowledge for optimal agent access
+  and reasoning
+
+## Why context engineering matters
+
+The difference between a helpful agent and a transformative one often comes down
+to context engineering:
+
+**Without proper context engineering:**
+
+- Agents hallucinate or provide outdated information
+- Responses are generic and lack domain-specific insight
+- Tool usage is inconsistent and unreliable
+- Complex tasks fail due to information gaps
+
+**With sophisticated context engineering:**
+
+- Agents access current, relevant information dynamically
+- Responses are grounded in real data and domain expertise
+- Tool usage is strategic and purposeful
+- Complex workflows execute reliably with proper information flow
+
+## Week 4 learning path
+
+This week builds your expertise in the core components of context engineering:
+
+### Days 16-17: Prompt and message engineering
+
+Master the fundamentals of communication with language models through structured
+prompts and optimized user messages.
+
+### Days 18-20: Retrieval systems
+
+Implement sophisticated information retrieval systems using PostgreSQL, MongoDB,
+and Neo4j to provide agents with dynamic access to relevant data.
+
+### Days 21-22: Advanced graph knowledge systems
+
+Explore cutting-edge knowledge graph approaches using Dgraph for complex
+reasoning and relationship modeling.
+
+<CardGroup cols={2}>
+  <Card
+    title="Day 16: agent system prompts"
+    href="/agents/30-days-of-agents/day-16"
+  >
+    Master prompt structure, iteration techniques, tool use optimization, and structured output generation for reliable agent behavior.
+  </Card>
+
+<Card
+  title="Day 17: agent user messages"
+  href="/agents/30-days-of-agents/day-17"
+>
+  Learn best practices for crafting user messages that elicit optimal agent
+  responses and enable complex task completion.
+</Card>
+
+<Card
+  title="Day 18: retrieval with postgresql"
+  href="/agents/30-days-of-agents/day-18"
+>
+  Build RAG systems with Supabase and PostgreSQL, implementing semantic search
+  over structured product catalogs.
+</Card>
+
+<Card
+  title="Day 19: retrieval with MongoDB"
+  href="/agents/30-days-of-agents/day-19"
+>
+  Implement document-based retrieval systems using MongoDB Atlas for
+  unstructured data like product reviews and feedback.
+</Card>
+
+<Card
+  title="Day 20 -  GraphRAG with Neo4j"
+  href="/agents/30-days-of-agents/day-20"
+>
+  Explore graph-based retrieval augmented generation using Neo4j for complex
+  relationship reasoning and knowledge discovery.
+</Card>
+
+<Card
+  title="Day 21: dgraph data modeling"
+  href="/agents/30-days-of-agents/day-21"
+>
+  Learn advanced graph data modeling concepts with Dgraph, building
+  sophisticated knowledge graphs from real-world data.
+</Card>
+
+  <Card
+    title="Day 22: dgraph querying"
+    href="/agents/30-days-of-agents/day-22"
+  >
+    Master DQL (Dgraph Query Language) for complex graph queries and integrate Dgraph with your agents using multiple client libraries.
+  </Card>
+</CardGroup>
+
+## The context engineering mindset
+
+Effective context engineering requires thinking systematically about information
+flow:
+
+- **Information architecture** How should knowledge be structured for optimal
+  agent access?
+
+- **Retrieval strategy** What information does the agent need, when, and in what
+  format?
+
+- **Tool orchestration** How should agents coordinate multiple information
+  sources and tools?
+
+- **Quality assurance** How do we ensure information accuracy and relevance?
+
+- **Performance optimization** How do we balance information completeness with
+  response speed?
+
+## Real-world applications
+
+By the end of Week 4, you'll be able to build agents that:
+
+- **Customer Support Agents** that dynamically retrieve product information,
+  order history, and knowledge base articles
+- **Research Assistants** that synthesize information from multiple databases
+  and external sources
+- **Business Intelligence Agents** that query complex data relationships and
+  provide actionable insights
+- **Content Creation Agents** that access brand guidelines, style guides, and
+  historical content for consistent output
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+- Completion of Weeks 1-3 (agent fundamentals and domain specialization)
+- Access to Hypermode Pro for advanced integrations
+- Willingness to work with databases and data modeling concepts
+
+<Card
+  title="Ready to Start Week 4?"
+  icon="arrow-right"
+  href="/agents/30-days-of-agents/day-16"
+>
+  Begin with Day 16: agent system prompts - master the foundation of agent
+  communication and behavior guidance.
+</Card>
+
+---
+
+_Transform your agents from conversational tools to intelligent systems that
+reason about complex problems with sophisticated context engineering._