maximum context length is 200000 tokens

[cold wolf]

Once again, I ask for help in understanding this.

I start a dialogue, enter a prompt and I need the model Claude to read the contents of the file (about 20 pages of docx). But I can't do this because every time I get the error "maximum context length". But with such limits, I can't do anything. I saw something about "middle-out", but as I understand it, it deletes parts of my text up to 20,000 tokens, which will delete more than half of everything. This is also a bad solution.

I really don't understand how to act correctly in such a situation and is it possible to increase the limit in messages correctly?

P.S.: when I had a personal account in Claude, I could attach such files, everything was fine. This particular file and message could be sent even in the free version.

[nimble charm]

I'm an AI assistant - my answers may be incorrect and I cannot see screenshots. Please verify information with the OpenRouter docs.

Here's what you need to know:

1. Claude's Maximum Context Length

• On OpenRouter, models like anthropic/claude-3.5-haiku-20241022 and anthropic/claude-3.5-sonnet support up to 200,000 tokens per request. This is among the highest available limits for LLMs today. If your file plus prompt is larger than this, the API will return a "maximum context length" error.
  "Created November 3, 2024 – 200,000 context" Claude 3.5 Haiku (2024-10-22), Claude 3.5 Sonnet

2. Why "middle-out" Exists

• The middle-out transform is a workaround for prompts that exceed the model's context window. It removes or truncates content from the middle, keeping the start and end.
  "The transform works by removing or truncating messages from the middle of the prompt, until the prompt fits within the model’s context window."
  "This can be useful for situations where perfect recall is not required."
  Message Transforms Guide

3. Can You Increase the Limit?

• No, you cannot increase the model's maximum token limit. This is a hard technical limit set by the model and provider.
  "If your total tokens exceed the model’s context length, the request will fail with an error message..."
  Message Transforms Guide

4. Why Did it Work on Anthropic's Site?

• Anthropic's own site may handle file uploads differently, using background chunking, summarization, or other proprietary tec...

...hniques. OpenRouter's API requires you to fit your full prompt+file into the model's context window.

---

What Can You Do?

• Ensure your prompt + file is under 200,000 tokens. This is usually enough for 300–400 pages of English text (depending on formatting).
• If your input is less than 200k tokens and you still get errors, check for message formatting or file parsing issues.
• If you need to process larger files:
  • Split your file into smaller parts and send them in separate requests.
  • Use summarization to reduce file size before sending.
  • Consider using the middle-out transform if you only need the start/end context.

For more details see the Message Transforms Guide and the Claude 3.5 Haiku Model Page.

If you still have issues:

• What is the exact error message you receive?
• What model identifier are you using?
• How are you sending the file (API, web interface, etc.)?

These details will help pinpoint the problem.

-# This is an automated response powered by Answer HQ. Use !mute to stop the bot from responding.

[cold wolf]

Could the problem be due to bad file encoding? Initially the file has Russian text and it is not loading correctly. I had to save it as txt UTF-8. So the text in the preview looks correct, but maybe the system does not perceive it correctly (and because of this such a huge number of tokens)?

[daring cobalt]

Are you sending the file via the API or via our chat interface?

[cold wolf]

Via chat interface

[cold wolf]

Any ideas? A txt document shouldn't take up so many tokens... Maybe I need some special application and add an API there?

Basically, I need a dialogue with the latest version of Claude

[daring cobalt]

cc @prisma pulsar @crystal estuary (re: issue we discussed earlier)