Brainbox: Token Usage and Managing Your Allowance

Last updated on 09 Oct 2026

Tokens are the units that AI models use to process text. Think of them as the building blocks of language — each token represents roughly 0.75 words. Whether you're typing a short question or uploading a long document, everything is converted into tokens before the AI processes it.

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How Brainbox fits together — Brainbox is Wavebox’s AI and it works in two ways. Chats with your tabs: the side panel works with your open tabs from every Space — @-mention any tab, trigger / Skills, and pick your engine (or add your own keys, or use the free on-device model from Brainbox Local AI). Each chat stays attached to the tab that was in focus when you opened it, and no conversation is ever out of reach — tap the ☰ menu > History to reopen any chat, any time, and carry on right where you left off. Paid plans include 1 million free tokens every month. And one special chat — Chat with Settings: the only chat that can actually change Wavebox. It sees your whole setup, remembers across sessions, and doesn’t use your tokens — ask it to change colours, add or remove apps, find a setting, or give you a 7-day Wavebox training course.

Your Free Token Allowance

Every Wavebox Pro subscription includes 1 million free OpenAI tokens per month. This allowance resets on the 1st of each month, and unused tokens do not carry over to the next month.

The free tokens cover API calls to the included model tiers (currently GPT-6 Luna). If you want to use more tokens, switch to different models, or continue beyond your monthly allowance, you can add your own API key.

What Uses Tokens?

Tokens are consumed in two places:

Your messages — every message you send to Brainbox counts toward your token usage
Brainbox responses — every response Brainbox generates also uses tokens

Longer conversations consume more tokens because both your prompts and the generated responses are counted. Attaching page content, files, or screenshots also adds to your overall token count, since that content must be processed by the model.

How to Check Your Token Usage

Open the Brainbox panel in the main Wavebox window (robot icon in the toolbar)
Click the cog icon (⚙️) in the top-right corner
Select the Usage tab

You'll see a breakdown of your current month's token consumption and how much of your allowance remains.

Adding Your Own API Key

To extend your token allowance or use different models, add your own OpenAI or Anthropic API key:

Open the Brainbox panel
Click the cog icon (⚙️)
Navigate to API Keys
Enter your API key for OpenAI, Anthropic, or both
Save your changes

When you use your own API key, usage is billed directly by OpenAI or Anthropic according to their pricing — it is separate from your Wavebox Pro subscription and not deducted from your free monthly allowance.

Tips for Managing Tokens

Be Specific in Your Prompts

Vague or overly long prompts use more tokens without improving results. Focus your questions:

Instead of: "Tell me everything about content marketing"
Try: "What are the top 3 strategies for B2B SaaS content marketing?"

Choose the Right Model Tier for the Task

Different tasks require different model capabilities:

Use GPT-6 Luna for everyday tasks (covered by your free monthly allowance)
Use Claude Haiku 4.5 for fast, token-efficient responses (requires API key)
Use Claude Sonnet 5.5 for moderately complex analysis (requires API key)
Use Claude Opus 5.5 or GPT-6 Sol for highly complex or creative work (requires API key)

Start New Conversations Rather Than Extending Long Ones

Very long conversation threads consume more tokens with each new message because the entire history is reprocessed. If you're moving to a different topic, start a fresh conversation to save tokens.

Monitor Usage Regularly

Check your Usage tab monthly to stay aware of your consumption patterns. If you're approaching your limit, consider:

Switching to a more token-efficient model tier
Adding your own API key to continue working beyond the monthly allowance
Breaking complex tasks into multiple focused conversations