States - Agentbase Docs

States enable agents to maintain context, remember past interactions, and build upon previous work across multiple requests and sessions.

Overview

The States primitive represents the agent’s persistent memory and context management system. While sessions provide the container for conversations, states determine what information persists and how agents maintain context across interactions. This enables sophisticated workflows where agents can:

Remember Context: Maintain conversation history and relevant information across requests
Build Incrementally: Continue work from previous steps without starting over
Track Progress: Keep track of multi-step workflows and their current state
Share Knowledge: Make information available across different parts of a workflow
Maintain Variables: Store and retrieve data throughout the agent’s execution

Automatic Persistence

Message history persists automatically at no cost for all conversations

Environment State

Files, installed packages, and system state persist within session sandboxes

Session-Scoped

Each session maintains its own isolated state and context

Incremental Building

Agents build upon previous work without repeating completed steps

How State Works in Agentbase

Agentbase implements a two-tier state management model:

1. Conversational State (Message History)

Automatic & Free: Every message in a session is automatically persisted:

What’s Stored: All user messages, agent responses, tool calls, and their results
Cost: Zero - message history is always free
Retention: Persists for the lifetime of the session
Access: Automatically included in agent context for subsequent requests

2. Computational State (Environment)

On-Demand Creation: The sandbox environment state when agents perform operations:

Files Created: All files written persist in the session sandbox
Packages Installed: Dependencies remain installed across requests
System State: Environment variables, running processes, directory structure
Browser State: Cookies, local storage, authentication sessions

Session Continuity: Both conversational and computational state are tied to session IDs. Reuse the same session ID to maintain all context.

Code Examples

Basic State Persistence

import { Agentbase } from '@agentbase/sdk';

const agentbase = new Agentbase({
  apiKey: process.env.AGENTBASE_API_KEY
});

// First request - creates state
const step1 = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Create a file called data.json with some sample data"
});

console.log('Session ID:', step1.session);
// Output: Session ID: agent_session_abc123...

// Second request - uses existing state
const step2 = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Read the data.json file and summarize its contents",
  session: step1.session  // Reuse session = reuse state
});

// The file still exists! Agent can read it.

Multi-Step Workflow with State

// Step 1: Setup environment
const setup = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Install pandas and numpy"
});

// Step 2: Process data (packages still installed)
const process = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Create a Python script to process sales.csv",
  session: setup.session
});

// Step 3: Analyze (script and packages still available)
const analyze = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Run the script and show the analysis",
  session: setup.session
});

// Step 4: Visualize (all previous work available)
const visualize = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Create a chart from the analysis results",
  session: setup.session
});

// Each step builds on previous state

Conversational Context

// Agent remembers conversation history
const result1 = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "My name is Alice and I work at TechCorp"
});

const result2 = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "What's my name?",
  session: result1.session
});
// Agent responds: "Your name is Alice"

const result3 = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Where do I work?",
  session: result1.session
});
// Agent responds: "You work at TechCorp"

// All previous messages are in context

Stateful Development Workflow

// Create a complete development workflow with persistent state
async function developmentWorkflow() {
  // Initialize project
  const init = await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Create a new Node.js project with package.json"
  });

  const sessionId = init.session;

  // Install dependencies
  await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Install express, dotenv, and nodemon",
    session: sessionId
  });

  // Create application
  await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Create a basic Express server in src/index.js",
    session: sessionId
  });

  // Add features
  await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Add a /health endpoint to the server",
    session: sessionId
  });

  // Test
  const test = await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Start the server and test the health endpoint",
    session: sessionId
  });

  return test;
}

State Lifecycle

State Creation

State is created automatically on the first request in a session:

// No session ID = new session = new state
const result = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Start a new project"
});

// Fresh state:
// - Empty message history
// - Clean file system
// - No installed packages
// - Default environment

State Persistence

State persists throughout the session:

// Same session = same state
const continued = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Continue from where we left off",
  session: existingSessionId
});

// Preserved state:
// - All previous messages
// - All created files
// - All installed packages
// - Environment variables
// - Working directory

State Pause and Resume

After 5 minutes of inactivity, the computational environment pauses:

// Agent pauses after 5 minutes of no requests
// ... 10 minutes pass ...

// Resume automatically on next request
const resumed = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Let's continue",
  session: pausedSessionId
});

// State restored:
// - Message history: ✓ intact
// - Files: ✓ intact
// - Packages: ✓ intact
// - Running processes: ✗ stopped (need restart)

State Cleanup

Sessions eventually expire after extended inactivity:

// After session expires, state is cleaned up
// Attempting to use expired session creates new session

try {
  const result = await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Resume old session",
    session: veryOldSessionId
  });
} catch (error) {
  if (error.code === 'SESSION_EXPIRED') {
    // Start fresh
    const newResult = await agentbase.runAgent({
      message: "Start new session"
    });
  }
}

Use Cases

1. Iterative Development

Build software incrementally:

async function iterativeDevelopment() {
  // Session for the entire development process
  const session = (await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Create a Python web scraper project structure"
  })).session;

  // Each step builds on the previous
  await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Install beautifulsoup4 and requests",
    session
  });

  await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Create scraper.py with basic scraping logic",
    session
  });

  await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Add error handling to the scraper",
    session
  });

  await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Create tests for the scraper",
    session
  });

  const final = await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Run the tests and fix any issues",
    session
  });

  return final;
}

2. Data Analysis Pipeline

Process data through multiple stages:

async function analysisPipeline(dataUrl: string) {
  // Start pipeline
  const download = await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: `Download data from ${dataUrl}`
  });

  const sessionId = download.session;

  // Clean data
  await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Clean the data: remove duplicates, handle missing values",
    session: sessionId
  });

  // Transform
  await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Create derived features and aggregate by category",
    session: sessionId
  });

  // Analyze
  await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Perform statistical analysis and identify trends",
    session: sessionId
  });

  // Visualize
  const final = await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Create visualizations and save as report.pdf",
    session: sessionId
  });

  return final;
}

3. Long-Running Support Sessions

Maintain context throughout customer interactions:

async function customerSupportSession(customerId: string) {
  // Lookup customer
  const lookup = await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: `Look up customer ${customerId} details`,
    system: "You are a customer support agent"
  });

  const sessionId = lookup.session;

  // Throughout the conversation, agent remembers everything
  const response1 = await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Customer: I can't access my account",
    session: sessionId
  });

  const response2 = await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Customer: I've tried resetting my password",
    session: sessionId
    // Agent remembers the original issue and customer details
  });

  const response3 = await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Customer: That worked, thanks!",
    session: sessionId
    // Agent knows what solution was provided
  });

  return sessionId; // Store for potential follow-up
}

4. Research and Compilation

Gather information progressively:

async function researchProject(topic: string) {
  // Start research
  const init = await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: `Research ${topic} and create a document with findings`
  });

  const sessionId = init.session;

  // Add more information
  await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Search for recent developments in 2024",
    session: sessionId
    // Adds to existing document
  });

  await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Find case studies and real-world examples",
    session: sessionId
    // Appends to document
  });

  await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Add statistics and data points",
    session: sessionId
    // Enhances existing content
  });

  const final = await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Organize all findings into a structured report",
    session: sessionId
    // Works with all accumulated information
  });

  return final;
}

5. Testing and Debugging

Iteratively debug and test code:

async function debugWorkflow() {
  // Create buggy code
  const code = await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Create a Python script that processes user data"
  });

  const sessionId = code.session;

  // Test it
  const test1 = await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Run the script with test data",
    session: sessionId
  });

  // Fix issues found
  await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Fix the KeyError in the script",
    session: sessionId
    // Script still exists, just modify it
  });

  // Test again
  const test2 = await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Run the script again",
    session: sessionId
  });

  // Add more test cases
  const final = await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Test edge cases: empty input, large dataset",
    session: sessionId
  });

  return final;
}

6. Document Generation

Build documents incrementally:

async function createProposal(clientName: string) {
  // Start document
  const init = await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: `Create a project proposal document for ${clientName}`
  });

  const sessionId = init.session;

  // Add sections progressively
  await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Add executive summary section",
    session: sessionId
  });

  await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Add scope of work with 5 deliverables",
    session: sessionId
  });

  await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Add timeline and milestones",
    session: sessionId
  });

  await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Add pricing breakdown",
    session: sessionId
  });

  const final = await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Format as PDF and create summary slide deck",
    session: sessionId
  });

  return final;
}

Best Practices

Session Management

Store Session IDs for Long-Running Workflows

// Store session ID in your database
async function startWorkflow(userId: string, workflowType: string) {
  const result = await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Initialize workflow"
  });

  // Save for later use
  await db.workflows.create({
    userId,
    workflowType,
    sessionId: result.session,
    status: 'in_progress',
    createdAt: new Date()
  });

  return result.session;
}

// Resume later
async function continueWorkflow(workflowId: string, message: string) {
  const workflow = await db.workflows.findById(workflowId);

  return await agentbase.runAgent({
    message,
    session: workflow.sessionId
  });
}

Use Separate Sessions for Independent Tasks

// Good: Separate sessions for unrelated tasks
const customerAnalysis = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Analyze customer churn data"
  // New session, clean state
});

const contentGeneration = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Generate marketing content"
  // Different session, different state
});

// Avoid: Mixing unrelated work in one session
const mixed = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Analyze customer data"
});

await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Now write marketing content",
  session: mixed.session
  // Confusing context with unrelated previous work
});

Clean Up Temporary State

// Clean up large files to manage disk usage
const analysis = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Process large_dataset.csv and analyze"
});

const sessionId = analysis.session;

// Continue with analysis results
await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Create summary report",
  session: sessionId
});

// Clean up large files no longer needed
await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Delete large_dataset.csv and any temporary files",
  session: sessionId
});

State Organization

Modular State: Organize files and data logically within sessions for easier navigation and management.

// Well-organized state structure
const project = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: `Create project structure:
  - src/ (source code)
  - tests/ (test files)
  - data/ (data files)
  - output/ (results and reports)
  - docs/ (documentation)`
});

// Use throughout workflow
await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Create analysis script in src/analyze.py",
  session: project.session
});

await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Save results to output/results.json",
  session: project.session
});

State Recovery

Handle Session Expiration

async function safeResume(sessionId: string, message: string) {
  try {
    return await agentbase.runAgent({
      message,
      session: sessionId
    });
  } catch (error) {
    if (error.code === 'SESSION_NOT_FOUND') {
      console.warn('Session expired, starting fresh');
      // Either start new session or restore from checkpoint
      return await agentbase.runAgent({
        message: `Resume workflow: ${message}`,
        system: "Previous session expired, recreate necessary state"
      });
    }
    throw error;
  }
}

Create State Checkpoints

// Save important state externally for recovery
async function workflowWithCheckpoints() {
  const result = await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Process data and create report"
  });

  const sessionId = result.session;

  // Create checkpoint - extract important state
  const checkpoint = await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "List all created files and their purposes",
    session: sessionId
  });

  // Store checkpoint externally
  await saveCheckpoint({
    sessionId,
    timestamp: new Date(),
    files: checkpoint.message,
    context: "Data processing workflow"
  });

  return result;
}

Performance Optimization

Reuse Sessions

Minimize cold starts by reusing sessions for related work

Batch Operations

Group related tasks in single session to leverage state

Clean State

Remove unused files to stay within disk limits

Preload Common

Install common dependencies once per session

Integration with Other Primitives

With Sessions

Sessions provide the container for state:

// Session = container, State = contents
const session1 = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Task A"
});
// Session 1 has its own state

const session2 = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Task B"
});
// Session 2 has completely separate state

Learn more: Sessions Primitive

With Sandbox

State exists within sandbox boundaries:

// Each sandbox has isolated state
const result = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Create sensitive_data.txt"
});

// File exists only in this sandbox/session
// Other sessions cannot access it

Learn more: Sandbox Primitive

With Computer Environment

System state persists across requests:

// Install once, use multiple times
const setup = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Install tensorflow and keras"
});

// Packages still installed
const train = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Train a model using tensorflow",
  session: setup.session
});

// Model file persists
const evaluate = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Load and evaluate the trained model",
  session: setup.session
});

Learn more: Computer Primitive

With File System

Files are the primary persistent state:

// Create files that persist
const files = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Create config.json, data.csv, and script.py"
});

// All files still exist
const modify = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Update config.json with new settings",
  session: files.session
});

// Read any file from the session
const read = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Show contents of all three files",
  session: files.session
});

Learn more: File System Primitive

Performance Considerations

State Size

Monitor state size to avoid hitting limits:

Message History: Unlimited messages, but very long histories may impact performance
File Storage: 10GB per session limit
Memory Usage: 2-4GB depending on mode

// Check disk usage
const check = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Show disk usage with du -sh",
  session: existingSession
});

// Clean up if needed
if (usageHigh) {
  await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Delete files in /tmp and other temporary directories",
    session: existingSession
  });
}

Context Window Management

Very long message histories may need summarization:

// For very long sessions, periodically summarize
const summary = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Summarize our conversation so far and key decisions made",
  session: longSession
});

// Store summary externally, potentially start new session
// with summary as context

Cold Start vs. Warm Start

Cold Start (new session): ~2-5 seconds overhead
Warm Start (existing session): Instant, state already loaded
Resumed (paused session): ~1-2 seconds to resume

// Optimize by reusing sessions
const sessionId = await initializeOnce();

// All subsequent requests are warm starts
for (const task of tasks) {
  await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: task,
    session: sessionId  // Fast, state already loaded
  });
}

Troubleshooting

State Not Persisting

Problem: Changes don’t persist between requestsSolution: Verify you’re using the same session ID

// Wrong: Not passing session ID
const step1 = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Create file.txt"
});

const step2 = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Read file.txt"
  // Missing session: step1.session
});

// Correct: Passing session ID
const step2Fixed = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Read file.txt",
  session: step1.session  // ✓ Reuses state
});

Session Expired

Problem: Session no longer availableSolution: Implement expiration handling and state recovery

async function robustWorkflow(maybeExpiredSession: string) {
  try {
    return await agentbase.runAgent({
      message: "Continue work",
      session: maybeExpiredSession
    });
  } catch (error) {
    if (error.code === 'SESSION_NOT_FOUND') {
      // Restore from checkpoint or start fresh
      const checkpoint = await loadCheckpoint(maybeExpiredSession);
      return await agentbase.runAgent({
        message: `Resume: ${checkpoint.description}`,
        system: `Context: ${checkpoint.context}`
      });
    }
    throw error;
  }
}

Disk Space Exceeded

Problem: Hit 10GB storage limitSolution: Clean up large files regularly

// Monitor disk usage
const usage = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Check disk usage and list large files",
  session: existingSession
});

// Clean up
await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Delete temporary files and large downloads",
  session: existingSession
});

Conflicting State

Problem: Previous state interfering with new tasksSolution: Start new session for unrelated work

// Don't mix unrelated tasks
// Instead of:
const mixed = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Different task",
  session: existingSession  // May have conflicting state
});

// Do this:
const clean = await agentbase.runAgent({
  message: "Different task"
  // New session, clean state
});

Advanced Patterns

State Snapshots

Create snapshots of important state:

async function createSnapshot(sessionId: string) {
  // List all important state
  const state = await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: `Create a snapshot:
    1. List all files in project directory
    2. Export environment variables
    3. List installed packages
    4. Summarize current progress`,
    session: sessionId
  });

  // Store snapshot externally
  return {
    sessionId,
    timestamp: new Date(),
    snapshot: state.message
  };
}

// Restore from snapshot
async function restoreFromSnapshot(snapshot: any) {
  return await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: `Restore state: ${snapshot.snapshot}`,
    system: "Recreate the described environment and files"
  });
}

State Migration

Move state between sessions:

async function migrateState(oldSession: string, newSession: string) {
  // Export state from old session
  const exported = await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Create export.tar.gz with all project files",
    session: oldSession
  });

  // Import to new session
  await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: "Extract and restore from export.tar.gz",
    session: newSession
  });
}

Conditional State Reset

Reset parts of state while keeping others:

async function partialReset(sessionId: string) {
  // Keep some state, reset other parts
  await agentbase.runAgent({
    message: `Clean up state:
    - Keep: source files in src/
    - Keep: configuration files
    - Delete: temporary files
    - Delete: cached data
    - Reset: output directory`,
    session: sessionId
  });
}

Sessions

Container for state and conversations

Sandbox

Isolated environment hosting state

File System

Primary mechanism for persistent state

Computer

System state and environment persistence

Additional Resources

Persistence Guide

Understanding Agentbase’s persistence model

API Reference

Session and state parameters

Best Practices

Production patterns and tips

Remember: State management is automatic in Agentbase. Focus on organizing your workflows logically, and the platform handles persistence, isolation, and cleanup.

Getting Started

Build

Deploy

Improve

Agent Primitives

API Reference

Resources

​Overview

Automatic Persistence

Environment State

Session-Scoped

Incremental Building

​How State Works in Agentbase

​1. Conversational State (Message History)

​2. Computational State (Environment)

​Code Examples

​Basic State Persistence

​Multi-Step Workflow with State

​Conversational Context

​Stateful Development Workflow

​State Lifecycle

​State Creation

​State Persistence

​State Pause and Resume

​State Cleanup

​Use Cases

​1. Iterative Development

​2. Data Analysis Pipeline

​3. Long-Running Support Sessions

​4. Research and Compilation

​5. Testing and Debugging

​6. Document Generation

​Best Practices

​Session Management

​State Organization

​State Recovery

​Performance Optimization

Reuse Sessions

Batch Operations

Clean State

Preload Common

​Integration with Other Primitives

​With Sessions

​With Sandbox

​With Computer Environment

​With File System

​Performance Considerations

​State Size

​Context Window Management

​Cold Start vs. Warm Start

​Troubleshooting

​Advanced Patterns

​State Snapshots

​State Migration

​Conditional State Reset

​Related Primitives

Sessions

Sandbox

File System

Computer

​Additional Resources

Persistence Guide

API Reference

Best Practices

Overview

How State Works in Agentbase

1. Conversational State (Message History)

2. Computational State (Environment)

Code Examples

Basic State Persistence

Multi-Step Workflow with State

Conversational Context

Stateful Development Workflow

State Lifecycle

State Creation

State Persistence

State Pause and Resume

State Cleanup

Use Cases

1. Iterative Development

2. Data Analysis Pipeline

3. Long-Running Support Sessions

4. Research and Compilation

5. Testing and Debugging

6. Document Generation

Best Practices

Session Management

State Organization

State Recovery

Performance Optimization

Integration with Other Primitives

With Sessions

With Sandbox

With Computer Environment

With File System

Performance Considerations

State Size

Context Window Management

Cold Start vs. Warm Start

Troubleshooting

Advanced Patterns

State Snapshots

State Migration

Conditional State Reset

Related Primitives

Additional Resources