Blog
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Chunking tables, code and transcripts
Three document types that break general splitters, and the handling each needs: repeated headers, syntax-aware cuts, and topic-grouped speaker turns.
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Metadata is half the chunk
A chunk with no source, date or heading path can't be filtered or cited. What to attach, what to embed with the text, and what to keep out of the vector.
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Overlap, and what it actually buys
Overlap insures against cutting through an idea. It also inflates your index and fills top-k with near-copies. When it earns its cost, and when it's a patch.
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Split on structure, not on characters
A character splitter cuts where the counter runs out. Documents already have boundaries — headings, clauses, functions. Use those; count only as a fallback.
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Why chunk size is a tradeoff, not a setting
Small chunks retrieve precisely and answer incompletely. Large chunks do the reverse. What each end actually breaks, and how to find your corpus's middle.