> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://praison.ai/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Context Budgeter CLI

> Configure context budget allocation from the CLI

Reserve output tokens and inspect per-segment budgets so long agent runs don't exhaust context before the model can reply.

```python theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
from praisonaiagents import Agent

agent = Agent(name="budget-cli", instructions="Respect output token reserves.")
agent.start("Run a long task without exhausting the context budget.")
```

The user runs the agent from the CLI and checks `/context budget` to see segment allocation.

```mermaid theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
graph LR
    M[Model Limit] --> B[Budget Allocator]
    B --> S[System Prompt]
    B --> H[History]
    B --> T[Tool Outputs]
    B --> O[Output Reserve]

    classDef config fill:#6366F1,stroke:#7C90A0,color:#fff
    classDef process fill:#189AB4,stroke:#7C90A0,color:#fff
    classDef segment fill:#F59E0B,stroke:#7C90A0,color:#fff
    classDef reserve fill:#10B981,stroke:#7C90A0,color:#fff

    classDef agent fill:#8B0000,color:#fff
    classDef tool fill:#189AB4,color:#fff
    class M config
    class B process
    class S,H,T segment
    class O reserve
```

## How It Works

```mermaid theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
sequenceDiagram
    participant User
    participant Agent
    participant Feature as Context Budgeter CLI

    User->>Agent: Request
    Agent->>Feature: Process request
    Feature-->>Agent: Result    Agent-->>User: Response
```

## Quick Start

<Steps>
  <Step title="Run an agent, then inspect budget">
    ```python theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
    from praisonaiagents import Agent

    agent = Agent(
        name="Assistant",
        instructions="Answer helpfully within context limits.",
    )

    agent.start("Summarise the key points of context budgeting")
    ```

    From the CLI session:

    ```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
    praisonai chat
    > /context budget
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Increase output reserve for long replies">
    ```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
    praisonai chat --context-output-reserve 16000
    ```

    Default output reserve is 8000 tokens. Raise it when the model truncates final answers.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## CLI Flags

| Flag                       | Default | Description                      |
| -------------------------- | ------- | -------------------------------- |
| `--context-output-reserve` | `8000`  | Tokens reserved for model output |

## Interactive Commands

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
> /context budget   # Allocation breakdown
> /context stats    # Current usage vs budget
```

Example `/context budget` output:

```
Budget Allocation
  Model Limit:     128,000
  Output Reserve:  8,000
  Usable:          120,000

  Segment Budgets:
    System Prompt: 2,000
    History:       84,616
    Tool Outputs:  20,000
    ...
```

## config.yaml

```yaml theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
context:
  output_reserve: 8000
  default_tool_output_max: 10000
```

Environment variable: `PRAISONAI_CONTEXT_OUTPUT_RESERVE`.

## Best Practices

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Raise output reserve before raising compaction threshold">
    If replies are cut off, increase `--context-output-reserve` first — compaction may not be the issue.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Check /context stats after heavy tool use">
    Tool outputs consume the largest share; stats show which segment is filling fastest.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Pair with token estimation mode">
    Use [Token Estimation CLI](/docs/features/context-token-estimation-cli) accurate mode when validating budget numbers.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Token Estimation CLI" icon="calculator" href="/docs/features/context-token-estimation-cli">
    Configure estimation accuracy
  </Card>

  <Card title="Context Compaction" icon="compress" href="/docs/features/context-compaction">
    Automatic overflow protection
  </Card>
</CardGroup>