# Budget Diminishing Continue

> Issue continuation nudges while the turn stays under budget, then halt once diminishing returns or the budget cap justify stopping.

- Skill: `vishuwa2004/budget-diminishing-continue` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add vishuwa2004/budget-diminishing-continue`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/vishuwa2004/budget-diminishing-continue/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Finance & Business
- Author: vishuwa2004 (https://skillmd.com/u/vishuwa2004)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/vishuwa2004/budget-diminishing-continue

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# SKILL: Budget Diminishing Continue
**Domain:** tool-orchestration  
**Trigger:** Apply when you have a task-level token budget and must decide between continuing and stopping while respecting diminishing returns.
**Source Pattern:** Distilled from reviewed tool-loop and result-shaping patterns.

## Core Method
Track the cumulative tokens consumed per turn, issue a continuation nudge while the usage stays below `completionThreshold` (90% by default), and stop once token deltas shrink across repeated continuations. Diminishing-return detection keeps the loop from looping forever: once two cells in a row add fewer than `DIMINISHING_THRESHOLD` tokens, or the tracker reached several continuations, stop and emit the final completion payload. The tracker also guides `budgetDecision.action` so callers can differentiate between gentle nudges and hard stop signals.

## Key Rules
- Initialize `BudgetTracker` at turn start and update `continuationCount`, `lastDeltaTokens`, and `lastGlobalTurnTokens` after each continuation decision.
- Allow continuations only when under `budget * COMPLETION_THRESHOLD` and the last token deltas are meaningful; otherwise treat it as diminishing returns.
- When stoppage occurs due to diminishing returns, include the `completionEvent` that records counts, percentages, and elapsed duration so callers can log or surface why the turn ended.
- If the budget or agent ID is missing, return an immediate `stop` with `completionEvent = null` to avoid undefined behavior.
- Always compute the continuation message via `getBudgetContinuationMessage` so the user sees consistent phrasing and the tracker returns the tidy `pct`/`turnTokens` metrics.

## Example Application
If a query advances toward a 100k token budget, continue streaming until usage hits 90% or token growth slows; when the stop decision triggers, log the diminishing-returns flag so both user and telemetry know the stream ended intentionally.

## Anti-Patterns (What NOT to do)
- Do not keep continuing just because the earlier logic returned `continue`; re-run the decision each iteration to respect the latest token deltas.
- Do not drop the `completionEvent` data when stopping; it contains the telemetry the backend uses to tell budgets apart from user cancellations.