cline/cline · error · ContextWindowOverflowError

CONTEXT_WINDOW_OVERFLOW_RECOVERY_FAILED_MESSAGE

Error message

CONTEXT_WINDOW_OVERFLOW_RECOVERY_FAILED_MESSAGE

What it means

Error "CONTEXT_WINDOW_OVERFLOW_RECOVERY_FAILED_MESSAGE" thrown in cline/cline.

Source

Thrown at sdk/packages/agents/src/agent-runtime.ts:995

			type: "status-notice",
			snapshot: this.snapshot(),
			message: "context window exceeded — compacting and retrying",
			metadata: {
				kind: "context_overflow_recovery",
				reason: "context_overflow_recovery",
				phase: "started",
				iteration: this.state.iteration,
				providerError,
			},
		});
		const retry = await this.generateAssistantMessage({
			overflowRecovery: true,
		});
		if (
			retry.finishReason === "error" &&
			this.state.lastErrorClass === "context_window_exceeded"
		) {
			throw new ContextWindowOverflowError(
				CONTEXT_WINDOW_OVERFLOW_RECOVERY_FAILED_MESSAGE,
				this.state.lastError,
			);
		}
		return retry;
	}

	private isRecoverableOverflowTurn(turn: {
		message: AgentMessage;
		finishReason: AgentModelFinishReason;
	}): boolean {
		if (
			turn.finishReason !== "error" ||
			this.state.lastErrorClass !== "context_window_exceeded" ||
			this.overflowRecoveryAttempted
		) {
			return false;
		}

View on GitHub (pinned to 491b30b806)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at sdk/packages/agents/src/agent-runtime.ts:995 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of cline/cline@491b30b806 (2026-08-25). Data as JSON: /api/errors/cec9b878192f9d09. Report an issue: GitHub.