Offers the user an informed choice about how much response depth to consume before answering. Use this skill when the user explicitly wants to control response length, depth, or token budget. TRIGGER when: "token budget", "token count", "token usage", "token limit", "response length", "answer depth", "short version", "brief answer", "detailed answer", "exhaustive answer", "respuesta corta vs larga", "cuántos tokens", "ahorrar tokens", "responde al 50%", "dame la versión corta", "quiero controlar cuánto usas", or clear variants where the user is explicitly asking to control answer size or depth. DO NOT TRIGGER when: user has already specified a level in the current session (maintain it), the request is clearly a one-word answer, or "token" refers to auth/session/payment tokens rather than response size.
Intercept the response flow to offer the user a choice about response depth before Claude answers.
Do not trigger when: user already set a level this session (maintain it silently), or the answer is trivially one line.
Use the repository's canonical context-budget heuristics to estimate the prompt's token count mentally.
Use the same calibration guidance as context-budget:
words × 1.3chars / 4For mixed content, use the dominant content type and keep the estimate heuristic.
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).
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):
min + (max - min) × 0.25min + (max - min) × 0.50min + (max - min) × 0.75max| 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 |
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.
This skill uses heuristic estimation — no real tokenizer. Accuracy ~85-90%, variance ±15%. Always show the disclaimer.
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.