anth-advanced-troubleshooting

# Anthropic Advanced Troubleshooting ## Issue: Context Window Overflow ```python # Symptom: invalid_request_error about token count # Diagnosis: pre-check with Token Counting API import anthropic client = anthropic.Anthropic() count = client.messages.count_tokens( model="claude-sonnet-4-20250514", messages=conversation_history, system=system_prompt ) print(f"Input tokens: {count.input_tokens}") # Claude Sonnet: 200K context, Claude Opus: 200K context # Fix: truncate oldest messages or summarize def trim_conversation(messages: list, max_tokens: int = 180_000) -> list: """Keep recent messages within token budget.""" # Always keep first (system context) and last 5 messages if len(messages) <= 5: return messages return messages[:1] + messages[-5:] # Crude but effective ``` ## Issue: Tool Use Not Triggering ```python # Symptom: Claude responds with text instead of calling tools # Diagnosis checklist: # 1. Tool description must clearly state WHEN to use the tool # 2. User message must match the tool's trigger condition # BAD description (too vague): {"name": "search", "description": "Search for things"} # GOOD description (clear trigger): {"name": "search_products", "description": "Search the product catalog by name, category, or price range. Use whenever the user asks about products, pricing, or availability."} # Force tool use if needed: message = client.messages.create( model="claude-sonnet-4-20250514", max_tokens=1024, ...