Inside Claude Code's Three-Tier Memory: Beyond the 200-Line Myth

Claude Code's widely-criticized 200-line memory index cap is actually a token-budget constraint, not an architectural limitation. The system uses an elegant three-tier design—always-loaded index, on-demand topic files, and rarely-accessed session transcripts—that balances knowledge retention with computational efficiency. This approach reveals how production AI systems can intelligently scale context without infinite cost.