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lean_ctx/core/
context_overhead.rs

1//! Honest accounting of the fixed per-turn context lean-ctx injects (GitHub #361).
2//!
3//! Three components ride every request and — on a provider WITHOUT prompt caching
4//! — are re-billed on every turn:
5//!  - the exposed MCP **tool schemas** (description + input schema of each tool),
6//!  - the MCP **server instructions** block, and
7//!  - the **rules block** lean-ctx writes into the host's instruction file
8//!    (`CLAUDE.md` / `AGENTS.md`).
9//!
10//! `lean-ctx gain` measures *compression on lean-ctx-touched reads* — its
11//! denominator is lean-ctx traffic, not the provider bill. On a phase-isolated /
12//! non-caching workload (separate process per phase, no provider cache) the
13//! cached-re-read lever has no surface, so the headline can read net-positive
14//! while the bill moved net-negative. Surfacing this overhead — and stating the
15//! denominator — keeps the meter honest.
16//!
17//! Net bill impact ≈ `gross_saved_tokens − total_tokens() × turns`.
18
19use std::sync::OnceLock;
20
21use crate::core::tokens::count_tokens;
22
23/// A measured breakdown, in tokens, of the per-turn context lean-ctx adds.
24#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq, Default)]
25pub struct ContextOverhead {
26    /// Number of MCP tools exposed (the schema-bearing surface).
27    pub tool_count: usize,
28    /// Tokens for all exposed tool descriptions + input schemas.
29    pub tool_schema_tokens: usize,
30    /// Tokens for the MCP server instructions block (capped at the instruction budget).
31    pub instruction_tokens: usize,
32    /// Tokens for the rules block injected into the host instruction file.
33    pub rules_block_tokens: usize,
34}
35
36impl ContextOverhead {
37    /// Total per-turn overhead in tokens.
38    #[must_use]
39    pub fn total_tokens(&self) -> usize {
40        self.tool_schema_tokens + self.instruction_tokens + self.rules_block_tokens
41    }
42
43    /// Process-cached overhead. The tool surface and rules block are static and
44    /// the instruction block varies only with slow-moving session state, so a
45    /// once-per-process measurement is the right tradeoff for callers that render
46    /// repeatedly (the `gain` dashboard re-renders every second in `--live`) —
47    /// it avoids per-tick disk I/O and re-tokenization.
48    #[must_use]
49    pub fn cached() -> Self {
50        static CACHE: OnceLock<ContextOverhead> = OnceLock::new();
51        *CACHE.get_or_init(Self::measure)
52    }
53
54    /// Measure the overhead for the currently-configured MCP surface. Uses the
55    /// same advertisement policy as the live `tools/list` handler (candidate
56    /// set, profile gates, invoker, description compression), so the number
57    /// reflects what this install actually advertises (#572).
58    #[must_use]
59    pub fn measure() -> Self {
60        let tools = crate::server::tool_visibility::advertised_tool_defs_default();
61        let tool_count = tools.len();
62        let tool_schema_tokens = tools.iter().map(tool_tokens).sum();
63
64        let instructions =
65            crate::instructions::build_instructions(crate::tools::CrpMode::effective());
66        let instruction_tokens = count_tokens(&instructions);
67
68        // The rules block only rides every turn when lean-ctx actually injects it
69        // into the host instruction file. With `rules_injection = off` no file is
70        // written (the `rules_inject` injectors early-return), so it adds zero
71        // per-turn overhead — counting it would overstate the faithful-arm tax and
72        // make the net-of-injection figure pessimistic (#361).
73        let rules_block_tokens = if crate::core::config::Config::load().rules_injection_effective()
74            == crate::core::config::RulesInjection::Off
75        {
76            0
77        } else {
78            count_tokens(&crate::rules_inject::canonical_rules_block())
79        };
80
81        Self {
82            tool_count,
83            tool_schema_tokens,
84            instruction_tokens,
85            rules_block_tokens,
86        }
87    }
88}
89
90/// Description + input-schema tokens for one tool definition — exactly the two
91/// fields a client re-sends in every request's tool list.
92pub fn tool_tokens(t: &rmcp::model::Tool) -> usize {
93    let desc = t
94        .description
95        .as_ref()
96        .map_or(0, |d| count_tokens(d.as_ref()));
97    let schema = count_tokens(&serde_json::to_string(&t.input_schema).unwrap_or_default());
98    desc + schema
99}
100
101/// Pure net-of-injection reconciliation: the total injection tax
102/// (`overhead_per_turn × turns`) and the signed net savings after subtracting
103/// it. Lives here — the home of injection accounting — so both `lean-ctx gain`
104/// and the verified savings ledger/ROI reconcile against the same math. The net
105/// is signed because on a non-caching rail a short run can legitimately go
106/// net-negative until savings outgrow the per-turn injection (#361, #685).
107#[must_use]
108pub fn net_of_injection(tokens_saved: u64, overhead_per_turn: u64, turns: u64) -> (u64, i64) {
109    let total = overhead_per_turn.saturating_mul(turns);
110    let net = tokens_saved as i64 - total as i64;
111    (total, net)
112}
113
114/// Provider turns (requests) the proxy actually observed carrying the injected
115/// prefix. The proxy is the only component that sees every provider turn, so its
116/// persisted request count is the honest multiplier for the per-turn injection
117/// tax. `0` when the proxy is not in the request path — we never guess turns we
118/// did not see, so [`net_of_injection`] then collapses to the gross savings.
119#[must_use]
120pub fn observed_turns() -> u64 {
121    crate::proxy::metrics::load_persisted().map_or(0, |m| m.requests_total)
122}
123
124#[cfg(test)]
125mod tests {
126    use super::*;
127
128    #[test]
129    fn measure_reports_nonzero_components() {
130        // Isolated (default) config: shared rules injection, no pinned profile —
131        // every component carries tokens. `isolated_data_dir` also holds the env
132        // lock, so a concurrent test toggling the knobs can't perturb this.
133        let _iso = crate::core::data_dir::isolated_data_dir();
134        let o = ContextOverhead::measure();
135        assert!(o.tool_count > 0, "must expose at least one tool");
136        assert!(o.tool_schema_tokens > 0, "tool schemas carry tokens");
137        assert!(o.instruction_tokens > 0, "instructions carry tokens");
138        assert!(o.rules_block_tokens > 0, "rules block carries tokens");
139        assert_eq!(
140            o.total_tokens(),
141            o.tool_schema_tokens + o.instruction_tokens + o.rules_block_tokens
142        );
143    }
144
145    #[test]
146    fn total_is_sum_of_parts() {
147        let o = ContextOverhead {
148            tool_count: 10,
149            tool_schema_tokens: 100,
150            instruction_tokens: 200,
151            rules_block_tokens: 50,
152        };
153        assert_eq!(o.total_tokens(), 350);
154    }
155
156    #[test]
157    fn rules_injection_off_zeroes_the_rules_block() {
158        // With rules injection off, no rules file is written, so the per-turn
159        // overhead must not count the rules block (#361). The tool/instruction
160        // surface is unaffected. `isolated_data_dir` holds the env lock.
161        let _iso = crate::core::data_dir::isolated_data_dir();
162        let on = ContextOverhead::measure();
163        crate::test_env::set_var("LEAN_CTX_RULES_INJECTION", "off");
164        let off = ContextOverhead::measure();
165        crate::test_env::remove_var("LEAN_CTX_RULES_INJECTION");
166
167        assert!(on.rules_block_tokens > 0, "default still injects rules");
168        assert_eq!(off.rules_block_tokens, 0, "off must drop the rules block");
169        assert_eq!(
170            off.total_tokens(),
171            off.tool_schema_tokens + off.instruction_tokens,
172            "off total excludes the rules block"
173        );
174    }
175
176    #[test]
177    fn minimal_arm_per_turn_prefix_stays_within_budget() {
178        // The "faithful arm" (#361): tool_profile=minimal (5 tools) +
179        // LEAN_CTX_MINIMAL (no session/knowledge prefix) + rules_injection=off
180        // (no rules block) must keep the fixed per-turn prefix tiny. This is the
181        // regression guard for the "~3K tokens/turn injected" critique — if any
182        // knob silently stops applying, the total balloons and this fails.
183        // macOS/Linux baseline is ~1774 after two reviewed navigation additions:
184        // the v3 agent-loop + navigation-paradox one-liner (#609, always-on in the
185        // COMPACT skeleton) and the ctx_search `handle` param (#608) — together
186        // ~+47 tok over the prior ~1727. Windows additionally carries
187        // `build_shell_hint()` — a ~5-tok PowerShell-cmdlet warning that is empty on
188        // POSIX. The budget covers that surface plus a small margin for
189        // `shell_name()` variance (#1051), and still sits ~1.2K under the ~3K balloon
190        // this guard exists to catch — it is not a license for silent creep.
191        const MINIMAL_ARM_PREFIX_BUDGET_TOKENS: usize = 1790;
192
193        let _iso = crate::core::data_dir::isolated_data_dir();
194        crate::test_env::set_var("LEAN_CTX_TOOL_PROFILE", "minimal");
195        crate::test_env::set_var("LEAN_CTX_MINIMAL", "1");
196        crate::test_env::set_var("LEAN_CTX_RULES_INJECTION", "off");
197        let o = ContextOverhead::measure();
198        crate::test_env::remove_var("LEAN_CTX_TOOL_PROFILE");
199        crate::test_env::remove_var("LEAN_CTX_MINIMAL");
200        crate::test_env::remove_var("LEAN_CTX_RULES_INJECTION");
201
202        assert_eq!(
203            o.rules_block_tokens, 0,
204            "rules_injection=off must zero the rules block"
205        );
206        assert!(
207            o.tool_count <= crate::core::tool_profiles::ToolProfile::Minimal.tool_count() + 1,
208            "minimal profile must keep the surface lean, got {} tools (expected ≤ {})",
209            o.tool_count,
210            crate::core::tool_profiles::ToolProfile::Minimal.tool_count() + 1,
211        );
212        assert!(
213            o.total_tokens() <= MINIMAL_ARM_PREFIX_BUDGET_TOKENS,
214            "minimal-arm per-turn prefix = {} tok (schemas {} + instr {} + rules {}), budget {}",
215            o.total_tokens(),
216            o.tool_schema_tokens,
217            o.instruction_tokens,
218            o.rules_block_tokens,
219            MINIMAL_ARM_PREFIX_BUDGET_TOKENS,
220        );
221    }
222
223    #[test]
224    fn net_of_injection_subtracts_per_turn_tax() {
225        // 1000 saved, 50/turn over 8 turns = 400 tax → net 600.
226        assert_eq!(net_of_injection(1000, 50, 8), (400, 600));
227    }
228
229    #[test]
230    fn net_of_injection_can_go_negative_on_short_runs() {
231        // The honest case the report must not hide: gross < injection tax.
232        assert_eq!(net_of_injection(100, 50, 8), (400, -300));
233    }
234
235    #[test]
236    fn net_of_injection_collapses_to_gross_without_proxy_turns() {
237        // No proxy in the path → no counted turns → net == gross.
238        assert_eq!(net_of_injection(1234, 3000, 0), (0, 1234));
239    }
240}