Busk at 16:01, 3 May 2026

2026-05-03T16:01:36Z

Busk: Created page with "your question system/developer instructions chat history included in the context file contents pasted or attached repo/folder code the tool chooses to include error logs termi..."

2026-05-03T16:00:10Z

Created page with "your question system/developer instructions chat history included in the context file contents pasted or attached repo/folder code the tool chooses to include error logs termi..."

New page

your question
system/developer instructions
chat history included in the context
file contents pasted or attached
repo/folder code the tool chooses to include
error logs
terminal output
tool results

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:01, 3 May 2026
Line 7:		Line 7:
	terminal output		terminal output
	tool results		tool results
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		+
		+	Yes. Input tokens are everything the model receives for that request, including:
		+
		+	your question
		+	system/developer instructions
		+	chat history included in the context
		+	file contents pasted or attached
		+	repo/folder code the tool chooses to include
		+	error logs
		+	terminal output
		+	tool results
		+
		+	So if you say:
		+
		+	Look at my whole repo and find the bug
		+
		+	the input may include a lot of files, summaries, search results, and code chunks.
		+
		+	If you say:
		+
		+	Only look at backend/auth/middleware.go and backend/db/users.sql
		+
		+	then the input is much smaller and usually more accurate.
		+
		+	Best way to reduce tokens
		+
		+	Be specific about scope:
		+
		+	Look only at this file.
		+
		+	or:
		+
		+	Look only in cmd/server and internal/auth.
		+
		+	or:
		+
		+	Do not scan node_modules, dist, vendor, .git, build, coverage, generated files, or lock files.
		+
		+	For repo work, this is usually best:
		+
		+	Here is the error. First inspect only the files likely involved. Ask before expanding scope.
		+
		+	Even better, give:
		+
		+	the exact error
		+	the command you ran
		+	the file/function involved
		+	the expected behavior
		+	the actual behavior
		+
		+	Simple rule
		+
		+	Bigger scope = more input tokens = more cost/slower/more noise
		+	Smaller scope = fewer input tokens = faster/cheaper/often better
		+
		+	So yes: asking it to inspect a specific file, directory, function, or error path is the right way to keep tokens down.

Input tokens - Revision history

Busk at 16:01, 3 May 2026

Busk: Created page with "your question system/developer instructions chat history included in the context file contents pasted or attached repo/folder code the tool chooses to include error logs termi..."