How to control the response length with `max_tokens`

The max_tokens parameter lets you control how long the model’s response can be — in terms of tokens.

A token can be a word, part of a word, or even punctuation
(Example: “Hello!” = 2 tokens: "Hello" + "!")

Why use `max_tokens`?

To limit the size of the output
To control latency / cost (fewer tokens = faster and cheaper)
To avoid overly long answers if you want concise responses

How to choose the value:

Parameter details:

Parameter	Type	Default
`max_tokens`	Integer	2048

First, install the SDK:

$ pip install -Uqq sarvamai

Then use the following Python code:

1 from sarvamai import SarvamAI
2 
3 # Initialize the SarvamAI client with your API key
4 client = SarvamAI(api_subscription_key="YOUR_SARVAM_API_KEY")
5 
6 # Example 1: Using default max_tokens (not specified) — defaults to 2048
7 response = client.chat.completions(
8     model="sarvam-105b",
9     messages=[
10         {"role": "system", "content": "You are a helpful assistant."},
11         {"role": "user", "content": "Tell me about the planet Mars."}
12     ],
13     # max_tokens not specified → defaults to 2048
14 )
15 
16 print(response.choices[0].message.content)

1 from sarvamai import SarvamAI
2 
3 client = SarvamAI(api_subscription_key="YOUR_SARVAM_API_KEY")
4 
5 # Example 2: Using max_tokens = 100 — limit response length
6 response = client.chat.completions(
7     model="sarvam-105b",
8     messages=[
9         {"role": "system", "content": "You are a helpful assistant."},
10         {"role": "user", "content": "Summarize the plot of Mahabharata."}
11     ],
12     max_tokens=100
13 )
14 
15 # Receive assistant's reply as output
16 print(response.choices[0].message.content)

1	from sarvamai import SarvamAI
2
3	# Initialize the SarvamAI client with your API key
4	client = SarvamAI(api_subscription_key="YOUR_SARVAM_API_KEY")
5
6	# Example 1: Using default max_tokens (not specified) — defaults to 2048
7	response = client.chat.completions(
8	model="sarvam-105b",
9	messages=[
10	{"role": "system", "content": "You are a helpful assistant."},
11	{"role": "user", "content": "Tell me about the planet Mars."}
12	],
13	# max_tokens not specified → defaults to 2048
14	)
15
16	print(response.choices[0].message.content)

1	from sarvamai import SarvamAI
2
3	client = SarvamAI(api_subscription_key="YOUR_SARVAM_API_KEY")
4
5	# Example 2: Using max_tokens = 100 — limit response length
6	response = client.chat.completions(
7	model="sarvam-105b",
8	messages=[
9	{"role": "system", "content": "You are a helpful assistant."},
10	{"role": "user", "content": "Summarize the plot of Mahabharata."}
11	],
12	max_tokens=100
13	)
14
15	# Receive assistant's reply as output
16	print(response.choices[0].message.content)

Why use max_tokens?

How to choose the value:

Parameter details:

Why use max_tokens?

How to choose the value:

Parameter details:

Why use `max_tokens`?

Why use `max_tokens`?