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perf: cache prompt token estimate instead of rescanning #402

@bug-ops

Description

@bug-ops

Problem

Every LLM call rescans the entire message list to estimate prompt tokens, performing 50-100 iterator steps + divisions per call.

Files: crates/zeph-core/src/agent/streaming.rs lines 132-136, 431-435

Current code:

let prompt_estimate: u64 = self
    .messages
    .iter()
    .map(|m| u64::try_from(m.content.len()).unwrap_or(0) / 4)
    .sum();

Impact

  • CPU: 2-5% overhead per LLM call
  • Latency: +1-3ms per call (10-30ms cumulative over 10-iteration tool loop)

Solution

Maintain cached counter:

struct Agent {
    cached_prompt_tokens: usize,
}

// Update on message push/drain
self.cached_prompt_tokens += estimate_tokens(&msg.content);

Priority: P0
Effort: Medium (2-3 hours, needs careful state tracking)
Related to #391

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