Recursive Chunking
~10 min read
Chunk first using natural separators like paragraphs or sections, then recursively split any chunk that still exceeds the size limit — preserving natural structure while still respecting a hard size cap.
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Key points
- •Two-level strategy: first split on natural separators (paragraphs/sections), then recursively split any chunk still over the size limit
- •A chunk that already fits the size limit after the first pass is left untouched
- •Preserves natural language flow and complete ideas, like semantic chunking, but uses structure rather than embeddings to decide initial boundaries
- •The size-limit enforcement is a second-pass safety net, not the primary boundary-setting mechanism
- •Costs more implementation and computational overhead than a single fixed-size pass, due to the multi-level check-and-split logic