新闻 · arXiv cs.CL

Token Reduction Is Not Cost Reduction

Context-reduction layers for API-based coding agents, including command-output compressors, retrieval rankers, and payload-optimizing proxies, are usually evaluated by how much text they remove. We ask instead: when does reducing retrieved context or tool output lower the actual billed cost of a coding agent without reducing task success or lengthening its trajectory? Our primary evidence is a pre-specified, hash-frozen, paired campaign of 2,908 provider-billed Claude Code runs, of which 2,848…