{"version":"2.1.290","anchor":"task-budget-exclude-start-context-from-the-budget","canonical_anchor":"task-budget-exclude-start-context-from-the-budget","heading":"Task budgets can leave out the tokens used by the starting context","tier":"internal","area":"Context Management","scope":"individual","heads_up":false,"url":"https:\/\/changelogs.core-directive.com\/v\/2.1.290\/e\/task-budget-exclude-start-context-from-the-budget","release_url":"https:\/\/changelogs.core-directive.com\/v\/2.1.290","markdown":"### Task budgets can leave out the tokens used by the starting context\n\nA task's token budget can now skip the tokens spent on its starting context, controlled by `CLAUDE_CODE_CALM_MOCHI`\n\n**Unclear.** What triggers the exclusion, and exactly what each of the three values covers, is not clear.\n\n**What**\n\nClaude Code can give a task a token budget, which caps how much text it may process. The tracker for that budget can now leave out the tokens taken up by the starting context, meaning the material a task begins with. When it does, it reports that in its usage data.\n\nThe new `CLAUDE_CODE_CALM_MOCHI` environment variable, also controlled by a server setting, takes one of three values:\n\n- `forks`\n\n- `all`\n\n- `none`\n\nThat value decides whether a subagent's budget sits on top of its starting context. A subagent is a helper Claude starts to work on part of a task. When the server sends nothing, the value is `none`.\n\n**Why**\n\nThis changes how much room a subagent or forked task has before it hits its budget.\n\n- Area: Context Management\n- Tier: Under the hood\n- Useful: 1\/5\n- Signal: 3\/5\n- Scope: individual\n- Heads-up: no"}