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taodengandClaude <claude-opus-4-8> <noreply@anthropic.com> 8405e30d0e feat(server): SPOT-derived prompt budget — MAX_PROMPT_CHARS default follows models.json (ADR 0009)
Maintainer directive (2026-07-18): the hand-set 150,000-char default (~37.5k English
tokens) is obsolete in the long-context era. Instead of a new constant that would rot
the same way, the default now derives from the SPOT:

  MAX_PROMPT_CHARS (default) = max(models.json contextWindow) x 3 chars/token
                             = 200000 x 3 = 600,000 chars today (~150-200k tokens)

x3 is the CJK-safe multiplier: English runs ~4 chars/token, CJK ~1-1.5, so a
1M-token-derived char cap would let CJK text sail past the model's real window into
an upstream rejection; at x3 the cap fires at roughly the model's true window and OCP
truncates gracefully (tail-first) instead. Pure derivePromptCharBudget() in
lib/prompt.mjs with a 150k floor guarding degenerate SPOT states (empty models[],
absent contextWindow) - a zero budget would truncate every request to nothing.

CLAUDE_MAX_PROMPT_CHARS (env) and the runtime settings API remain ABSOLUTE overrides;
derivation applies only when neither is set. If models.json ever advertises a larger
window (e.g. 1M for the 1M-native models), the budget scales automatically - that
advertisement is a separate deliberate decision (quota burn, OpenClaw compaction, TUI
paste limits) explicitly NOT made here; see ADR 0009.

Behavior change (intended): requests between 150k and 600k chars previously truncated
now pass through whole - longer TTFT + higher quota use for those requests. Truncation
mechanism/logging unchanged; only the default's provenance changed.

ALIGNMENT.md Rule 2: no cli.js citation applies - the truncation guard is OCP-internal
prompt shaping; no endpoint, header, or wire field changes.

Tests: +4, doubly mutation-proven (max->min fails the largest-window test; dropping
the floor fails the floor test). Suite 347 passed / 0 failed. ADR 0009 + index row +
README env-table row included (release_kit: env var default change documented).

Co-Authored-By: Claude <claude-opus-4-8> <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-07-18 10:03:58 +10:00
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