---
name: context-budgeting
description: Manager context small, raw data to files, token estimation workflow for the orchestrator agent.
tags: ['management', 'context', 'tokens']
---

# Context Budgeting

## Purpose
Keep the main agent's context small by storing raw data in files and using includes/references instead of inline data.

## When to Use
- When a tool returns more than 80 lines of text
- When the user provides large files for processing
- When the conversation history grows large
- When a subordinate returns a long report

## When Not to Use
- For short tool outputs (< 30 lines)
- For data that must be reasoned about inline

## Procedure
1. Receive large output from tool or subordinate
2. Save to a file (e.g., /a0/usr/workdir/<name>.md)
3. Reference the file in the response: `See §include(/path/to/file.md)`
4. Optionally summarize the file in a few lines for context
5. Use raw file only when deep analysis is needed

## Token Estimation Rule
- 1 line of code/markdown ≈ 10-20 tokens
- 80 lines of tool output ≈ 1000-1500 tokens
- 1000 lines of conversation ≈ 15000-20000 tokens
- Compress when output exceeds 1000 tokens

## See Also
- Tool: `context_compactor` (plugin tool for structured compression)