@github.signals: pxpipe An ingenious local proxy called pxpipe is cutting AI API costs by up to seventy percent by turning bulky text into images before it leaves your machine. While large language models charge a premium to read massive blocks of text like system prompts, tool documentation, and long chat histories, their price for reading an image is fixed by its pixel dimensions. By pack-rendering dense text into compact PNGs, the model reads the visual data at a fraction of the token cost. It automatically evaluates each request, only converting when the math saves you money, and leaves your actual output untouched. Open source: teamchong/pxpipe Spotted on Hacker News. Follow for more open source project drops. #claude #aicoding #aiagents
the fact something as stupid as this is needed doesnt really give confidence in the future of llm and ai
2026-07-06 17:32:47
53
square caboose :
LLMs cannot "read" images. They use a smaller model to produce a read-able text format for the real model to use. Once the text format has been created, you're not saving tokens anymore. This helps a lot with short tasks, but agentic work it will maybe cut costs by 1% tops.
2026-07-05 18:25:08
32
acidayan :
will i get the same output as text?
2026-07-05 16:11:23
5
Wodoame :
AI cost is bringing out the ingenuity in us 🤣.
2026-07-05 11:12:19
35
Six :
i use math instead it can save up to 50%, still doing tests and optimizing
2026-07-09 22:08:09
1
waningus :
But i tried it once and ask chatgpt to read a big text inside a big image and it failed and with more tries it read some stuff wrong
2026-07-05 14:04:14
8
junww6 :
The model cannot accurately see that. I mean it is entirely possible that you end up with a wrong instruction read, which is worse than no instruction
2026-07-05 16:09:47
1
MonoluminAI :
U sure that it works?… usually the images is not so light 😳
2026-07-08 09:07:32
0
Jesse¹⁰²⁵ :
cocoindex_code with a small embedder 70% savingon code base
2026-07-08 04:23:42
0
user4764533001770 :
Proxy as a MITM, but selling to you as a benefit, is a good way to get data out of a close loop setup
2026-07-06 00:10:23
1
Zuck :
ridiculous
2026-07-06 20:34:14
0
voidapp.lol :
Do i look like i case chlling on my 3 claude max plans?
2026-07-07 07:54:43
0
Archmagos X :
Yea its limited to OCR
2026-07-05 14:33:54
6
lok1s :
gemini when the text on the image is too small starts hallucinating hard, i think Claude won't be that much better
2026-07-05 15:55:06
4
itsyoboi.van :
Input tokens is hella cheap, why bother and with this agent harness, planning is better than long prompts.
2026-07-05 22:51:50
4
AJ P :
you always say that then increases those already existing
2026-07-05 12:44:43
0
🩸 :
This doesnt reduce costs, just use smaller models for the prompts
2026-07-05 20:53:37
0
SERGIO :
definitely trying this out😜 sorry ai overlords
2026-07-06 15:38:16
0
Unemployed :
Performance would be worse
2026-07-05 17:55:39
0
Mattias Aabmets :
gonna get patched in like 3 days
2026-07-06 20:04:02
0
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