Token Budget Advisor
Intercept response flow to let users choose depth before answering.
When to Use
- User mentions tokens, budget, depth, or response length
- User says "short version", "tldr", "brief", "exhaustive", etc.
- User wants to control detail level upfront
Do not trigger when: user already set depth this session, or answer is trivially one line.
Depth Options
Present before answering:
Input: ~[N] tokens | Type: [type] | Complexity: [level]
[1] Essential (25%) -> ~[tokens] Direct answer only
[2] Moderate (50%) -> ~[tokens] Answer + context + example
[3] Detailed (75%) -> ~[tokens] Multiple examples + alternatives
[4] Exhaustive (100%) -> ~[tokens] Everything
Level Guide
| Level | Length | Include | Omit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25% | 2-4 sent | Direct answer, conclusion | Context, examples |
| 50% | 1-3 para | Answer + context + 1 example | Deep analysis, edge cases |
| 75% | Structured | Examples, pros/cons, alternatives | Extreme cases |
| 100% | No limit | Everything | Nothing |
Shortcuts
If user signals depth, respond at that level immediately:
- "1" / "25%" / "short" / "brief" / "tldr" → 25%
- "2" / "50%" / "moderate" → 50%
- "3" / "75%" / "detailed" → 75%
- "4" / "100%" / "exhaustive" → 100%
Maintain user's chosen level for rest of session unless changed.
Estimation
Heuristic-based (no real tokenizer):
- Input tokens = estimate from prompt size
- Response window = input × complexity multiplier
- Accuracy ~85-90%, variance ±15%