tokenkiller

Reduce token usage for agent workflows (budgets, gating, progressive disclosure, dedupe).

What it is

TokenKiller is a lightweight skill/policy to systematically reduce LLM token usage without noticeably lowering success rate. It is designed for multi-step agent workflows such as:

• search / exploration
• coding / refactoring
• debugging / troubleshooting
• testing / verification
• docs / summarization

How it works

Core mechanisms:

• Dynamic budgets: Assess task complexity first, then apply appropriate budget (simple/medium/complex)
• Progressive disclosure: pull only the minimum necessary context (avoid big-file/log dumps)
• L0-L3 information layers: Start with goal (L0), constraints (L1), evidence (L2); only pull full content (L3) when necessary
• Diff-first outputs: prefer patches and deltas over full-file reposts
• Deduped evidence: never paste the same content twice; reference it briefly instead
• Token self-check: periodic review of token consumption patterns
• Multi-skill collaboration: works alongside other skills as a constraint layer

Key Features

Dynamic Budget Mechanism

Complexity	Criteria	Tool Budget	Output Budget
Simple	Single file, clear requirement	≤3 calls	≤50 lines
Medium	2-3 files, some exploration	≤6 calls	≤120 lines
Complex	Cross-module, multi-step, unclear	≤10 calls	≤200 lines

When budget runs low but task incomplete, a warning is issued and strategy shifts to more conservative mode.

L3 Pull Triggers

Only pull full content (L3) in these scenarios:

• Code modification requiring exact indentation/format
• Config debugging with interdependent settings
• Error analysis needing complete stack trace
• User explicitly requests full content

Multi-Skill Priority

• Functional skills (pdf, xlsx, etc.) take precedence
• TokenKiller applies as a constraint layer during output
• User requests override throttling rules

Token Self-Check

High-consumption behaviors to avoid:

• Reading >500 line files in full
• Outputting complete file contents instead of diffs
• Repeatedly pasting the same code/log
• Listing entire directory trees
• Outputting lengthy explanatory text

Self-check timing: After every 3 tool calls, verify you're at L0-L2 level with no duplicate information.

Files

• SKILL.md — the full policy definition (YAML header + detailed rules)
• examples.md — examples and anti-patterns (6 examples covering various scenarios)

License

MIT-0 (see LICENSE).