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paleo-budget

paleo-budget

github.com/mocasusAgent workflows2152 installsUpdated 14w ago
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About paleo-budget

paleo-budget is an agent skill for setting and enforcing an output-token cap on a task. It offers soft, hard, and strict modes, with guidance for estimating usage and preserving critical content.

Key features

  1. 01Per-task output token cap
  2. 02Soft, hard, and strict modes
  3. 03Approximate token tracking
  4. 04Summarize remaining content near limit

Use cases

  1. 01Limit answer length to a defined budget
  2. 02Warn when output approaches a cap
  3. 03Stop or fail before exceeding a strict limit

Install

Copy the command and run it in a terminal.

$npx skills add https://github.com/mocasus/paleo --skill paleo-budget

After installing, type/paleo-budgetin Claude Code to confirm it loaded.

Details

From the project README

paleo-budget

Hard token budget per task. Cap spend, never overflow.

Rules

  • Set budget up front: "budget 2000" = max ~2000 out-tokens for the whole task.
  • Estimate before writing: rough tok ≈ chars / 4. Track running count.
  • Stop at ~90% budget. If answer incomplete, summarize remainder in bullets.
  • Tight budget → pair with paleo (terse). budget + paleo = max save.
  • Code/commands stay exact — budget hits prose, not correctness.

Levels

  • soft: warn near limit, keep going.
  • hard (default): cut off at limit, summarize the tail.
  • strict: fail-loud if estimate exceeds budget before starting.

Switch

  • /budget 1500 soft|hard|strict set cap + mode.
  • "no budget" / "unlimited" → off.

Gotchas

  • Token estimate is approximate (chars/4). Leave 10% headroom.
  • Never truncate the critical part of the answer — summarize instead.
  • Budget = output cap. Input/context not counted unless user says "total".

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