lean_ctx/proxy/cache_policy.rs
1//! Net-cost policy for cache-busting rewrites (#986, cache-economics).
2//!
3//! The cold-prefix repack (#480) re-seeds a leaner prompt cache when the proxy
4//! predicts the client-cached prefix has already gone cold (idle past the TTL).
5//! Because the entry is *already* expired, the provider re-writes the prefix on
6//! the next turn no matter what — so compressing that unavoidable re-write is
7//! free savings, **except** for prefixes too small to be cached at all. Repacking
8//! one of those only churns the conversation's cache identity for no benefit.
9//!
10//! This module is the pricing brain that decides when a repack pays:
11//!
12//! - [`worth_repacking`] — the live gate applied in `anthropic.rs`. It runs
13//! *before* compression, so it can only weigh the measurable precondition: is
14//! the cacheable prefix even large enough to be worth re-seeding?
15//! - [`net_cost_decision`] / [`repack_saving_usd`] — the fully priced primitive
16//! (before/after token counts × [`ModelCost`]) for callers that already know
17//! the compressed size (tests today, cache-edit batching later).
18//!
19//! Pure functions, no globals; gated behind the opt-in `proxy.cache_policy` at
20//! the call site so a default proxy keeps today's behaviour exactly.
21
22use serde_json::Value;
23
24use crate::core::gain::model_pricing::ModelCost;
25use crate::core::tokens::count_tokens;
26
27/// Minimum cacheable prefix size, in tokens. Anthropic will not cache a prefix
28/// below this (1024 for most models; Haiku needs more), so re-seeding a smaller
29/// one can never produce a cache the provider would keep — the conservative
30/// floor below which a repack is pure churn. Chosen as the documented Anthropic
31/// minimum rather than an estimate.
32pub const MIN_CACHEABLE_TOKENS: u64 = 1024;
33
34/// Token count of an Anthropic `system` field (a string or a content-block
35/// array) — the part of the cacheable prefix that precedes every message.
36/// Serialized and BPE-counted like the messages below so both halves of the
37/// prefix use one consistent measure.
38fn system_tokens(system: Option<&Value>) -> u64 {
39 match system {
40 Some(v) if !v.is_null() => serde_json::to_string(v).map_or(0, |s| count_tokens(&s) as u64),
41 _ => 0,
42 }
43}
44
45/// Token count of the prefix the provider would actually cache: the `system`
46/// field plus the client-cached messages `messages[0..cached]`. Measured (not
47/// estimated) via the same BPE counter the rest of the proxy uses, so the gate
48/// reflects the real prefix — including the system prose a cold-prefix repack
49/// re-seeds, which is usually the bulk of it.
50#[must_use]
51pub fn prefix_tokens(system: Option<&Value>, messages: &[Value], cached: usize) -> u64 {
52 let mut total = system_tokens(system);
53 let end = cached.min(messages.len());
54 if end > 0
55 && let Ok(serialized) = serde_json::to_string(&messages[..end])
56 {
57 total += count_tokens(&serialized) as u64;
58 }
59 total
60}
61
62/// Live repack gate (pre-compression). A cold-prefix repack only pays when the
63/// cacheable prefix (system + cached messages) is large enough that the provider
64/// will actually cache the re-seeded version; below [`MIN_CACHEABLE_TOKENS`] the
65/// repack just churns the conversation's cache key. Applied as an extra
66/// AND-condition on the existing repack decision, so the policy can only make
67/// repacking *more* conservative — never trigger a rewrite that would not have
68/// happened.
69#[must_use]
70pub fn worth_repacking(system: Option<&Value>, messages: &[Value], cached: usize) -> bool {
71 prefix_tokens(system, messages, cached) >= MIN_CACHEABLE_TOKENS
72}
73
74/// Cache-write cost saved by re-seeding a compressed prefix instead of the full
75/// one, in USD. On a cold prefix the provider re-writes regardless, so the saving
76/// is the avoided write of the dropped tokens: `(before − after) × cache_write`.
77/// Clamped to `0.0` when compression did not shrink the prefix.
78#[must_use]
79pub fn repack_saving_usd(before_tokens: u64, after_tokens: u64, cost: &ModelCost) -> f64 {
80 let saved = before_tokens.saturating_sub(after_tokens);
81 saved as f64 / 1_000_000.0 * cost.cache_write_per_m
82}
83
84/// Fully priced repack decision for callers that already know the compressed
85/// size. True when the prefix is cacheable *and* re-seeding it strictly lowers
86/// the unavoidable cold re-write cost. The precondition mirrors
87/// [`worth_repacking`] so the live gate and the priced primitive never disagree.
88#[must_use]
89pub fn net_cost_decision(before_tokens: u64, after_tokens: u64, cost: &ModelCost) -> bool {
90 before_tokens >= MIN_CACHEABLE_TOKENS
91 && after_tokens < before_tokens
92 && repack_saving_usd(before_tokens, after_tokens, cost) > 0.0
93}
94
95#[cfg(test)]
96mod tests {
97 use super::*;
98 use serde_json::json;
99
100 fn opus() -> ModelCost {
101 ModelCost {
102 input_per_m: 15.00,
103 output_per_m: 75.00,
104 cache_write_per_m: 18.75,
105 cache_read_per_m: 1.50,
106 }
107 }
108
109 #[test]
110 fn prefix_tokens_zero_when_nothing_cached() {
111 let msgs = vec![json!({"role": "user", "content": "hello"})];
112 assert_eq!(prefix_tokens(None, &msgs, 0), 0);
113 }
114
115 #[test]
116 fn prefix_tokens_counts_only_the_cached_span() {
117 let big = "lorem ipsum dolor sit amet ".repeat(50);
118 let msgs = vec![
119 json!({"role": "user", "content": big}),
120 json!({"role": "assistant", "content": "tail not counted"}),
121 ];
122 let one = prefix_tokens(None, &msgs, 1);
123 let two = prefix_tokens(None, &msgs, 2);
124 assert!(one > 0);
125 assert!(two > one, "wider cached span counts more tokens");
126 }
127
128 #[test]
129 fn prefix_tokens_includes_the_system_field() {
130 // The system prose is part of Anthropic's cacheable prefix and is what a
131 // cold repack re-seeds, so it must count toward the gate.
132 let msgs = vec![json!({"role": "user", "content": "hi"})];
133 let big_system = json!("context engineering ".repeat(400));
134 let without = prefix_tokens(None, &msgs, 1);
135 let with = prefix_tokens(Some(&big_system), &msgs, 1);
136 assert!(with > without + 500, "system prose must dominate the count");
137 }
138
139 #[test]
140 fn worth_repacking_rejects_small_prefix() {
141 let msgs = vec![json!({"role": "user", "content": "tiny"})];
142 assert!(!worth_repacking(None, &msgs, 1));
143 }
144
145 #[test]
146 fn worth_repacking_accepts_large_prefix() {
147 // Comfortably above the 1024-token cacheable floor.
148 let big = "context engineering ".repeat(1500);
149 let msgs = vec![json!({"role": "user", "content": big})];
150 assert!(worth_repacking(None, &msgs, 1));
151 }
152
153 #[test]
154 fn worth_repacking_counts_large_system_over_tiny_messages() {
155 // A small message prefix but a large system prompt still clears the gate,
156 // because the provider caches system + messages together.
157 let msgs = vec![json!({"role": "user", "content": "hi"})];
158 let big_system = json!("context engineering ".repeat(1500));
159 assert!(
160 !worth_repacking(None, &msgs, 1),
161 "tiny prefix alone is skipped"
162 );
163 assert!(
164 worth_repacking(Some(&big_system), &msgs, 1),
165 "a large system prompt makes the prefix worth re-seeding"
166 );
167 }
168
169 #[test]
170 fn net_cost_decision_rejects_subcacheable_even_if_smaller() {
171 // Below the cacheable floor: a smaller "after" still doesn't pay.
172 assert!(!net_cost_decision(500, 200, &opus()));
173 }
174
175 #[test]
176 fn net_cost_decision_rejects_when_no_shrink() {
177 assert!(!net_cost_decision(4000, 4000, &opus()));
178 assert!(!net_cost_decision(4000, 5000, &opus()));
179 }
180
181 #[test]
182 fn net_cost_decision_accepts_real_saving() {
183 assert!(net_cost_decision(4000, 2500, &opus()));
184 // Saving is the avoided write of the 1500 dropped tokens.
185 let saved = repack_saving_usd(4000, 2500, &opus());
186 assert!((saved - (1500.0 / 1_000_000.0 * 18.75)).abs() < 1e-9);
187 }
188
189 #[test]
190 fn repack_saving_is_zero_when_inflated() {
191 assert_eq!(repack_saving_usd(1000, 2000, &opus()), 0.0);
192 }
193}