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Intellectual property is a dead concept.
Claude Code sends 33k tokens before reading the prompt; OpenCode sends 7k
71–80 of 433 posts
Re: Claude Code sends 33k tokens before reading the prompt; OpenCode sends 7k
#72What really burns tokens is sub agents. I once gave Claude Code a pretty big task, and it immediately launched 7 sub agents which burned through my budget before even one of them was finished. Tried again 5 hours later: same result. If I let the main agent do the same task sequentially, it was no problem at all. I don't know if it's really just communication and orchestration that makes sub agents so inefficient, or…
And in my experience the sub agent performance is usually worse than just a single agent.
I find it useful for code reviews (spawn a subagent with minimal/no context to review X commit). Of course, this is more or less a shortcut that could be done with a seperate agent. Another use is multiple reviews at once if tokens are not an issue, with seperate "personas" or focuses. As far as implementation goes I have not seen any major usecase.
Re: Claude Code sends 33k tokens before reading the prompt; OpenCode sends 7k
#73What really burns tokens is sub agents. I once gave Claude Code a pretty big task, and it immediately launched 7 sub agents which burned through my budget before even one of them was finished. Tried again 5 hours later: same result. If I let the main agent do the same task sequentially, it was no problem at all. I don't know if it's really just communication and orchestration that makes sub agents so inefficient, or…
Every subagent send the same ~30k system prompts. If you are using fable/opus, that's easily 30% of a 5-hour window for 7 subagent, before doing any work
Re: Claude Code sends 33k tokens before reading the prompt; OpenCode sends 7k
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
Maybe related to this minimalism, Pi doesn't come with most of the tools an LLM needs to function efficiently or effectively. I get that a blank slate is the paradigm, and you can add whatever you want, but it's too blank IMO.
I have a functional Pi config, mostly self-made (it has everything I want, incl. subagents, web search, a /btw command, and other misc. addons), and my system prompt is ~3k.
Would you mind sharing?
Re: Claude Code sends 33k tokens before reading the prompt; OpenCode sends 7k
#75My opinion is that claude code uses more tokens simply because Anthropic makes more money that way and forces people into their subscriptions. This is supported by the fact that they won't let you use your sub on a different coding agent. I use pi btw.
> I use pi btw
Not sure if intentionally meant as a reference, but it gives "I use Arch btw" vibes.
Re: Claude Code sends 33k tokens before reading the prompt; OpenCode sends 7k
#76What really burns tokens is sub agents. I once gave Claude Code a pretty big task, and it immediately launched 7 sub agents which burned through my budget before even one of them was finished. Tried again 5 hours later: same result. If I let the main agent do the same task sequentially, it was no problem at all. I don't know if it's really just communication and orchestration that makes sub agents so inefficient, or…
As a counterpoint: in a complex project, Fable's "curiosity" may be exactly what you want for an exploration and planning stage - not just for the orchestrator that turns your prompt into different angles with which to explore, but for each subagent whose task is to search the codebase for one of those "angles." If you truly want no stone unturned, letting those subagents spawn their own discoveries, and recursively grow the surface area of the inquiry, then it's quite reasonable to want Fable throughout.
That said, if your project is "do this well-planned thing on a bunch of things in parallel" then you should absolutely be instructing to have subagents "step down" to less curious models. Their output may well be more cohesive as a result!
Re: Claude Code sends 33k tokens before reading the prompt; OpenCode sends 7k
#77Mine sends even less - https://maki.sh
Nice! > When context gets too long, maki compacts history automatically: strips images, thinking blocks, and summarizes older turns. Don’t the summaries of older turns effectively invalidate the context cache, such that you consume less tokens but more expensive tokens?
Only once per compaction
Re: Claude Code sends 33k tokens before reading the prompt; OpenCode sends 7k
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
Maybe related to this minimalism, Pi doesn't come with most of the tools an LLM needs to function efficiently or effectively. I get that a blank slate is the paradigm, and you can add whatever you want, but it's too blank IMO.
It's easy to add using plugins. What do you miss? I ask because I do some heavy work with pi + GLM 5.2 (using opencode Go subscription) and my workflow is plan -> implement.
> It's easy to add using plugins.
Sure, but you have to add almost everything, no? It deliberately only comes with read, write, edit, and bash. My point wasn't that you can't add stuff, but that I'd just rather use an harness that's a bit more full featured from the start.
(Pi is a bit like old 3D printing where fettling the printer to work is a central part of the hobby. I'd rather just buy a Prusa.)
Re: Claude Code sends 33k tokens before reading the prompt; OpenCode sends 7k
#79UPDATE:
After reading PUSH_AX's valid comment: ``` This is like saying contractor (A) asked for $33,000 to undertake the work and contractor (B) asked for $7,000 Are we measuring and caring about the right thing? ``` We will update the post to include:
1) A more in-depth task. 2) Qualitative results comparison. 3) As soon as possible, a reproduction of the inputs and outputs.
Re: Claude Code sends 33k tokens before reading the prompt; OpenCode sends 7k
#80[flagged]