Docs / Concepts
Edit on GitHub

Context

Context is the information that flows between you and your viber on each interaction. Understanding context helps you work effectively with your AI teammate.

The Request-Response Flow

Each time you interact with your viber:

  1. You send a request — Your message plus accumulated context
  2. Viber processes — Agent reasons with full context
  3. Viber responds — Answer plus any updates to context
  4. Context is saved — Ready for the next interaction

What’s Included in Context?

ElementDescription
MessagesYour conversation history
PlanCurrent goals and tasks
MemoryRelevant past decisions
ArtifactsReferences to files and outputs

Local-First Design

A key principle of OpenViber:

  • Viber Board maintains your conversation and plan
  • Work machine (~/.openviber/) stores durable context
  • Agent is stateless between requests

This means you can switch chat apps without losing context — it’s saved locally on your machine.

Context Accumulates

Unlike one-shot AI interactions, context builds over time:

Without accumulation:

“Research X” → Result “Summarize X” → “What X? I don’t remember”

With accumulation:

“Research X” → Result saved to context “Summarize X” → Summarizes based on previous research

This is what makes vibers useful for real work that spans multiple conversations.

Privacy

Because context lives on your machine, your information never leaves unless you explicitly choose to share it. This is fundamental to OpenViber’s design.

Next Steps

  • Memory — Deep dive into memory systems
  • Workspaces — Organizing project context