token-budget-advisor

Token Budget Advisor (TBA) Intercept the response flow to offer the user a choice about response depth before Claude answers. When to Use User wants to control how long or detailed a response is User mentions tokens, budget, depth, or response length User says "short version", "tldr", "brief", "al 25%", "exhaustive", etc. Any time the user wants to choose depth/detail level upfront Do not trigger when: user already set a level this session (maintain it silently), or the answer is trivially one line. How It Works Step 1 — Estimate input tokens Use the repository's canonical context-budget heuristics to estimate the prompt's token count mentally. Use the same calibration guidance as context-budget : prose: words × 1.3 code-heavy or mixed/code blocks: chars / 4 For mixed content, use the dominant content type and keep the estimate heuristic. Step 2 — Estimate response size by complexity Classify the prompt, then apply the multiplier range to get the full response window: Complexity Multiplier range Example prompts Simple 3× – 8× "What is X?", yes/no, single fact Medium 8× – 20× "How does X work?" Medium-High 10× – 25× Code request with context Complex 15× – 40× Multi-part analysis, comparisons, architecture Creative 10× – 30× Stories, essays, narrative writing Response window = input_tokens × mult_min to input_tokens × mult_max (but don’t exceed your model’s configured output-token limit). Step 3 — Present depth options Present this block before answering, using the actual estimated numbers: Analyzing your prompt... Input: ~[N] tokens | Type: [type] | Complexity: [level] | Language: [lang] Choose your depth level: [1] Essential (25%) -> ~[tokens] Direct answer only, no preamble [2] Moderate (50%) -> ~[tokens] Answer + context + 1 example [3] Detailed (75%) -> ~[tokens] Full answer with alternatives [4] Exhaustive (100%) -> ~[tokens] Everything, no limits Which level? (1-4 or say "25% depth", "50% depth", "75% depth", "100% depth") Precision: heuristic estimate ~85-90% accuracy (±15%). Level token estimates (within the response window): 25% → min + (max - min) × 0.25 50% → min + (max - min) × 0.50 75% → min + (max - min) × 0.75 100% → max Step 4 — Respond at the chosen level Level Target length Include Omit 25% Essential 2-4 sentences max Direct answer, key conclusion Context, examples, nuance, alternatives 50% Moderate 1-3 paragraphs Answer + necessary context + 1 example Deep analysis, edge cases, references 75% Detailed Structured response Multiple examples, pros/cons, alternatives Extreme edge cases, exhaustive references 100% Exhaustive No restriction Everything — full analysis, all code, all perspectives Nothing Shortcuts — skip the question If the user already signals a level, respond at that level immediately without asking: What they say Level "1" / "25% depth" / "short version" / "brief answer" / "tldr" 25% "2" / "50% depth" / "moderate depth" / "balanced answer" 50% "3" / "75% depth" / "detailed answer" / "thorough answer" 75% "4" / "100% depth" / "exhaustive answer" / "full deep dive" 100% If the user set a level earlier in the session, maintain it silently for subsequent responses unless they change it. Precision note This skill uses heuristic estimation — no real tokenizer. Accuracy ~85-90%, variance ±15%. Always show the disclaimer. Examples Triggers "Give me the short version first." "How many tokens will your answer use?" "Respond at 50% depth." "I want the exhaustive answer, not the summary." "Dame la version corta y luego la detallada." Does Not Trigger "What is a JWT token?" "The checkout flow uses a payment token." "Is this normal?" "Complete the refactor." Follow-up questions after the user already chose a depth for the session Source Standalone skill from TBA — Token Budget Advisor for Claude Code . Original project also ships a Python estimator script, but this repository keeps the skill self-contained and heuristic-only.