Equation 8 · Measuring Tool Protocols and the Model Context Protocol: Evidence, Benchmarks, and Uncertainty
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the number of tokens. Read the equation part by part below; each part has a contextual explanation and a link to its mathematical background.
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A simple linear model makes the assumption underneath that spread explicit. If a system prompt costs tokens before any tools are added, and each of n tools costs on average tokens to describe, total schema overhead is approximately
Sources cited in the article section
- [10] MCP spec should address tool schema token overhead (~1000 tokens/tool consumed per session) ↗
- [12] Tool-Schema Compression Enables Agentic RAG Under Constrained Context Budgets ↗
- [11] "How Many Tools Should an LLM Agent See? A Chance-Corrected Answer" ↗
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