// MCP TOKEN COST

The Hiveagent MCP server costs 8,746 tokens before the first call.

Connect Hiveagent and its 122 tool definitions are loaded into the model's context on every request — 4.4% of a 200k window spent before your agent does anything.

QUICK ANSWER The Hiveagent MCP server's tool definitions consume 8,746 tokens — 4.6× the median MCP server (1,905 tokens). A scoped grant exposing only the tools you use cuts that roughly in proportion.

MEASURED FROM SCHEMAS 122 tools · 8,746 tokens · 4.4% of 200k · 0.9% of 1M Method →

// CONTEXT WINDOW SHARE

What that buys before your agent starts working.

Tool definitions are overhead: they occupy context on every request and compete with your code, documents and conversation history for the same window.

200K WINDOW 4.4%

1M WINDOW 0.9%

Corpus context: Hiveagent ranks #208 of 3,213 measured MCP servers by definition cost. The median is 1,905 tokens, p90 is 7,952, and the heaviest (Fusionauth) is 183,337 — 92% of a 200k window on its own.

// PER-TOOL BREAKDOWN

Where the 8,746 tokens go.

Each row is one tool definition as a tools/list entry — name, description and input schema — counted with o200k_base. Average: 72 tokens per tool.

Tool	Category	Tokens	% of server
hiveagent_bet_create_event	Write	304	3.5%
hiveagent_predict_create	Write	257	2.9%
hiveagent_bet_create_contract	Write	195	2.2%
hiveagent_search	Read	165	1.9%
hiveagent_escrow_lock	Write	155	1.8%
hiveagent_subcontract	Read	148	1.7%
hiveagent_buy	Read	147	1.7%
hiveagent_agents_register	Write	147	1.7%
hiveagent_bet_buy_contract	Read	146	1.7%
hiveagent_data_list	Read	146	1.7%
hiveagent_auction_create	Write	145	1.7%
hiveagent_defi_stablecoin_swap	Read	139	1.6%
hiveagent_bet_parlay	Write	135	1.5%
hiveagent_defi_borrow	Read	129	1.5%
hiveagent_defi_swap	Read	122	1.4%
hiveagent_bet_place	Read	121	1.4%
hiveagent_predict_bet	Read	119	1.4%
hiveagent_defi_lend	Read	118	1.3%
hiveagent_defi_yield_deposit	Financial	115	1.3%
hiveagent_rep_record_event	Read	115	1.3%
hiveagent_predict_dispute	Read	112	1.3%
hiveagent_sub_create_plan	Write	111	1.3%
hiveagent_escrow_release	Read	110	1.3%
hiveagent_dao_create_proposal	Write	109	1.2%
hiveagent_outcome_create_contract	Write	107	1.2%
hiveagent_ins_claim	Read	105	1.2%
hiveagent_dao_create	Write	98	1.1%
hiveagent_nft_mint	Read	92	1.1%
hiveagent_privacy_prove	Read	92	1.1%
hiveagent_negotiate_auto	Read	89	1.0%
hiveagent_auction_accept	Read	87	1.0%
hiveagent_agents_search	Read	86	1.0%
hiveagent_predict_resolve	Write	86	1.0%
hiveagent_data_search	Read	83	0.9%
hiveagent_defi_prices	Read	82	0.9%
hiveagent_privacy_sealed_bid	Read	82	0.9%
hiveagent_negotiate_start	Execute	80	0.9%
hiveagent_escrow_dispute	Read	76	0.9%
hiveagent_ledger	Read	76	0.9%
hiveagent_agents_hire	Write	71	0.8%
hiveagent_browse_auctions	Read	70	0.8%
hiveagent_ins_buy	Read	70	0.8%
hiveagent_bet_contracts	Read	69	0.8%
hiveagent_privacy_transfer	Financial	68	0.8%
hiveagent_shop_add_to_cart	Write	66	0.8%
hiveagent_rep_leaderboard	Read	65	0.7%
hiveagent_agents_complete	Write	65	0.7%
hiveagent_defi_yield_pools	Read	63	0.7%
hiveagent_ins_plans	Read	63	0.7%
hiveagent_predict_markets	Read	63	0.7%
hiveagent_nft_buy_fraction	Read	62	0.7%
hiveagent_rep_badges	Read	62	0.7%
hiveagent_rep_score	Read	62	0.7%
hiveagent_negotiate_counter	Read	60	0.7%
hiveagent_sub_plans	Read	60	0.7%
hiveagent_privacy_deposit	Financial	59	0.7%
hiveagent_bet_sports_events	Read	59	0.7%
hiveagent_dao_vote	Write	59	0.7%
hiveagent_outcome_submit_result	Write	58	0.7%
hiveagent_privacy_withdraw	Financial	57	0.7%
hiveagent_balance	Read	56	0.6%
hiveagent_data_buy	Read	56	0.6%
hiveagent_outcome_verify_result	Read	56	0.6%
hiveagent_sub_subscribe	Read	56	0.6%
hiveagent_shop_search_products	Read	55	0.6%
hiveagent_nft_fractionalize	Read	54	0.6%
hiveagent_predict_detail	Read	54	0.6%
hiveagent_privacy_reveal_bid	Read	54	0.6%
hiveagent_auction_bids	Read	53	0.6%
hiveagent_dao_join	Read	53	0.6%
hiveagent_privacy_create_account	Write	53	0.6%
hiveagent_dao_deposit	Financial	52	0.6%
hiveagent_nft_list	Read	52	0.6%
hiveagent_negotiate_reject	Write	52	0.6%
hiveagent_shop_checkout	Write	52	0.6%
hiveagent_nft_transfer	Financial	51	0.6%
hiveagent_bet_history	Read	51	0.6%
hiveagent_defi_portfolio	Read	51	0.6%
hiveagent_outcome_get_open_contracts	Read	51	0.6%
hiveagent_shop_watch_price	Read	51	0.6%
hiveagent_predict_my_bets	Read	50	0.6%
hiveagent_nft_buy	Read	49	0.6%
hiveagent_agents_deliver	Read	48	0.5%
hiveagent_nft_search	Read	46	0.5%
hiveagent_defi_stats	Read	45	0.5%
hiveagent_negotiate_accept	Read	44	0.5%
hiveagent_outcome_claim_contract	Read	44	0.5%
hiveagent_settlement_stats	Read	44	0.5%
hiveagent_agents_profile	Read	43	0.5%
hiveagent_data_preview	Read	43	0.5%
hiveagent_bet_stats	Read	42	0.5%
hiveagent_sub_cancel	Destructive	40	0.5%
hiveagent_ins_stats	Read	40	0.5%
hiveagent_privacy_verify	Read	39	0.4%
hiveagent_stats	Read	38	0.4%
hiveagent_negotiate_get_agent_negotiations	Read	37	0.4%
hiveagent_dao_get_agent_daos	Read	36	0.4%
hiveagent_negotiate_get	Read	36	0.4%
hiveagent_dao_execute_proposal	Execute	35	0.4%
hiveagent_ins_my_claims	Read	35	0.4%
hiveagent_ins_my_policies	Read	35	0.4%
hiveagent_nft_get_agent_nfts	Read	35	0.4%
hiveagent_outcome_get_agent_outcomes	Read	35	0.4%
hiveagent_sub_my_subs	Read	35	0.4%
hiveagent_sub_stats	Read	35	0.4%
hiveagent_shop_compare_price	Read	34	0.4%
hiveagent_shop_create_cart	Write	34	0.4%
hiveagent_dao_get	Read	33	0.4%
hiveagent_shop_get_orders	Read	33	0.4%
hiveagent_dao_list	Read	32	0.4%
hiveagent_shop_get_cart	Read	32	0.4%
hiveagent_categories	Read	31	0.4%
hiveagent_agents_stats	Read	30	0.3%
hiveagent_negotiate_get_stats	Read	30	0.3%
hiveagent_outcome_get_templates	Read	30	0.3%
hiveagent_dao_get_stats	Read	28	0.3%
hiveagent_nft_get_stats	Read	28	0.3%
hiveagent_outcome_get_stats	Read	28	0.3%
hiveagent_privacy_stats	Read	28	0.3%
hiveagent_data_stats	Read	27	0.3%
hiveagent_rep_stats	Read	27	0.3%
hiveagent_shop_get_stats	Read	27	0.3%

// SCOPED GRANT

Most agents use a handful of these tools. They pay for all 122.

A PolicyLayer grant exposes only the tools you allow — ungranted definitions are filtered out of the tool list, so they never enter the context window. Estimates below assume typical-weight tools (72 tokens each).

Grant scope	Definition cost	Reduction
All 122 tools (no gateway)	8,746 tokens	—
3 granted tools	~215 tokens	−98%
5 granted tools	~358 tokens	−96%
10 granted tools	~717 tokens	−92%

Model your own stack in the token-cost calculator, or see the Hiveagent policy for what a sensible grant looks like.

//FAQ

Hiveagent token-cost questions.

How many tokens does the Hiveagent MCP server use?+

Its 122 tool definitions total 8,746 tokens — 4.4% of a 200k context window — measured with tiktoken o200k_base over the serialised tools/list payload. Exact counts vary slightly by client and model.

Why does Hiveagent consume tokens before I send a message?+

MCP clients load every connected server's tool definitions — name, description, and input schema — into the model's context so it knows what it can call. That payload is charged against your context window on every request, whether or not a tool is used.

How do I reduce Hiveagent's token usage?+

Expose fewer tools. A PolicyLayer grant scopes Hiveagent to only the tools you allow — ungranted definitions are filtered out of the tool list, so they never enter the context window. A grant of 3 typical tools costs roughly 215 tokens, a 98% reduction.

Does deferred tool loading fix this?+

Partially, in some clients. Claude Code defers MCP tool schemas behind a tool-search step by default, and VS Code has experimental grouping — but you still pay tokens per search and reload, and Cursor, Windsurf and Gemini CLI load definitions upfront. Reducing the exposed tool set cuts the cost in every client.

// METHOD & REVIEW

How these numbers were measured.

01

Serialisation

Each tool is serialised as a tools/list entry — name, description, input schema — from the schemas in the PolicyLayer scan database. Clients differ slightly in framing, so treat counts as close estimates.

02

Tokeniser

tiktoken o200k_base (GPT-4o/o-series). Anthropic's current tokeniser isn't published, so Claude's exact counts will differ; for English text and JSON schemas the totals are close enough to treat these as estimates.

03

Deferred loading

Some clients now defer schema loading (Claude Code's tool search; VS Code experimental grouping). You still pay per search and reload — and Cursor, Windsurf and Gemini CLI load everything upfront.

Computed 07-06-2026 from the PolicyLayer scan database over all 122 catalogued Hiveagent tools. Counts refresh with every site build.