What is content-addressable storage?

Definition

Content-addressable storage, commonly abbreviated CAS, computes an identifier from the bytes of an object. Identical content receives the same identifier, while any content change produces a different address.

An agent runtime can store prompts, skills, tool definitions and messages this way to preserve exact versions. Content addresses support deduplication, diffs, caching and reproducible replay, provided the hash algorithm and referenced components are recorded consistently.

Acronyms and aliases

CAS acronymcontent-addressed storage variant

Frequently asked questions

What does CAS mean in storage?

CAS means content-addressable storage, a system that identifies an object using a hash derived from the object's content.

Why store AI prompts by content hash?

A content hash identifies the exact prompt version and makes changes, deduplication, caching and replay easier to verify.

Videos explaining content-addressable storage

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