Use the Count Tokens API

This page shows you how to get the token count and the number of billable characters for a prompt by using the countTokens API.

Supported models

The following multimodal models support getting an estimate of the prompt token count:

To learn more about model versions, see Gemini model versions and lifecycle.

Get the token count for a prompt

You can get the token count estimate and the number of billable characters for a prompt by using the Vertex AI API.

Console

To get the token count for a prompt by using Vertex AI Studio in the Google Cloud console, perform the following steps:

  1. In the Vertex AI section of the Google Cloud console, go to the Vertex AI Studio page.

    Go to Vertex AI Studio

  2. Click either Open Freeform or Open Chat.
  3. The number of tokens is calculated and displayed as you type in the Prompt pane. It includes the number of tokens in any input files.
  4. To see more details, click <count> tokens to open the Prompt tokenizer.
    • To view the tokens in the text prompt that are highlighted with different colors marking the boundary of each token ID, click Token ID to text. Media tokens aren't supported.
    • To view the token IDs, click Token ID.

      To close the tokenizer tool pane, click X, or click outside of the pane.

Gen AI SDK for Python

Install

pip install --upgrade google-genai

To learn more, see the SDK reference documentation.

Set environment variables to use the Gen AI SDK with Vertex AI: 

# Replace the `GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT` and `GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION` values
# with appropriate values for your project.
export GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT=GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT
export GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION=global
export GOOGLE_GENAI_USE_VERTEXAI=True
 

from google import genai
from google.genai.types import HttpOptions

client = genai.Client(http_options=HttpOptions(api_version="v1"))
response = client.models.count_tokens(
    model="gemini-2.0-flash-001",
    contents="What's the highest mountain in Africa?",
)
print(response)
# Example output:
# total_tokens=10
# cached_content_token_count=None

Gen AI SDK for Go

Learn how to install or update the Gen AI SDK for Go.

To learn more, see the SDK reference documentation.

Set environment variables to use the Gen AI SDK with Vertex AI: 

# Replace the `GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT` and `GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION` values
# with appropriate values for your project.
export GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT=GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT
export GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION=global
export GOOGLE_GENAI_USE_VERTEXAI=True
 

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"io"

	genai "google.golang.org/genai"
)

// countWithTxt shows how to count tokens with text input.
func countWithTxt(w io.Writer) error {
	ctx := context.Background()

	client, err := genai.NewClient(ctx, &genai.ClientConfig{
		HTTPOptions: genai.HTTPOptions{APIVersion: "v1"},
	})
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("failed to create genai client: %w", err)
	}

	modelName := "gemini-2.0-flash-001"
	contents := []*genai.Content{
		{Parts: []*genai.Part{
			{Text: "What's the highest mountain in Africa?"},
		}},
	}

	resp, err := client.Models.CountTokens(ctx, modelName, contents, nil)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("failed to generate content: %w", err)
	}

	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Total: %d\nCached: %d\n", resp.TotalTokens, resp.CachedContentTokenCount)

	// Example response:
	// Total: 9
	// Cached: 0

	return nil
}

const {VertexAI} = require('@google-cloud/vertexai');

/**
 * TODO(developer): Update these variables before running the sample.
 */
async function countTokens(
  projectId = 'PROJECT_ID',
  location = 'us-central1',
  model = 'gemini-2.0-flash-001'
) {
  // Initialize Vertex with your Cloud project and location
  const vertexAI = new VertexAI({project: projectId, location: location});

  // Instantiate the model
  const generativeModel = vertexAI.getGenerativeModel({
    model: model,
  });

  const req = {
    contents: [{role: 'user', parts: [{text: 'How are you doing today?'}]}],
  };

  // Prompt tokens count
  const countTokensResp = await generativeModel.countTokens(req);
  console.log('Prompt tokens count: ', countTokensResp);

  // Send text to gemini
  const result = await generativeModel.generateContent(req);

  // Response tokens count
  const usageMetadata = result.response.usageMetadata;
  console.log('Response tokens count: ', usageMetadata);
}
 
import com.google.cloud.vertexai.VertexAI;
import com.google.cloud.vertexai.api.CountTokensResponse;
import com.google.cloud.vertexai.api.GenerateContentResponse;
import com.google.cloud.vertexai.generativeai.GenerativeModel;
import java.io.IOException;

public class GetTokenCount {
  public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
    // TODO(developer): Replace these variables before running the sample.
    String projectId = "your-google-cloud-project-id";
    String location = "us-central1";
    String modelName = "gemini-2.0-flash-001";

    getTokenCount(projectId, location, modelName);
  }

  // Gets the number of tokens for the prompt and the model's response.
  public static int getTokenCount(String projectId, String location, String modelName)
      throws IOException {
    // Initialize client that will be used to send requests.
    // This client only needs to be created once, and can be reused for multiple requests.
    try (VertexAI vertexAI = new VertexAI(projectId, location)) {
      GenerativeModel model = new GenerativeModel(modelName, vertexAI);

      String textPrompt = "Why is the sky blue?";
      CountTokensResponse response = model.countTokens(textPrompt);

      int promptTokenCount = response.getTotalTokens();
      int promptCharCount = response.getTotalBillableCharacters();

      System.out.println("Prompt token Count: " + promptTokenCount);
      System.out.println("Prompt billable character count: " + promptCharCount);

      GenerateContentResponse contentResponse = model.generateContent(textPrompt);

      int tokenCount = contentResponse.getUsageMetadata().getPromptTokenCount();
      int candidateTokenCount = contentResponse.getUsageMetadata().getCandidatesTokenCount();
      int totalTokenCount = contentResponse.getUsageMetadata().getTotalTokenCount();

      System.out.println("Prompt token Count: " + tokenCount);
      System.out.println("Candidate Token Count: " + candidateTokenCount);
      System.out.println("Total token Count: " + totalTokenCount);

      return promptTokenCount;
    }
  }
}

REST

To get the token count and the number of billable characters for a prompt by using the Vertex AI API, send a POST request to the publisher model endpoint.

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

  • LOCATION: The region to process the request. Available options include the following:

    Click to expand a partial list of available regions

    • us-central1
    • us-west4
    • northamerica-northeast1
    • us-east4
    • us-west1
    • asia-northeast3
    • asia-southeast1
    • asia-northeast1
  • PROJECT_ID: Your project ID.
  • MODEL_ID: The model ID of the multimodal model that you want to use.
  • ROLE: The role in a conversation associated with the content. Specifying a role is required even in singleturn use cases. Acceptable values include the following:
    • USER: Specifies content that's sent by you.
  • TEXT: The text instructions to include in the prompt.

HTTP method and URL: 

POST https://LOCATION-aiplatform.googleapis.com/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/publishers/google/models/MODEL_ID:countTokens

Request JSON body: 

{
  "contents": [{
    "role": "ROLE",
    "parts": [{
      "text": "TEXT"
    }]
  }]
}

To send your request, choose one of these options:

curl

Save the request body in a file named request.json, and execute the following command: 

curl -X POST \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
     -d @request.json \
     "https://LOCATION-aiplatform.googleapis.com/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/publishers/google/models/MODEL_ID:countTokens"

PowerShell

Save the request body in a file named request.json, and execute the following command: 

$cred = gcloud auth print-access-token
$headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }

Invoke-WebRequest `
    -Method POST `
    -Headers $headers `
    -ContentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8" `
    -InFile request.json `
    -Uri "https://LOCATION-aiplatform.googleapis.com/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/publishers/google/models/MODEL_ID:countTokens" | Select-Object -Expand Content

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following.

Example for text with image or video:

Gen AI SDK for Python

Install

pip install --upgrade google-genai

To learn more, see the SDK reference documentation.

Set environment variables to use the Gen AI SDK with Vertex AI: 

# Replace the `GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT` and `GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION` values
# with appropriate values for your project.
export GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT=GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT
export GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION=global
export GOOGLE_GENAI_USE_VERTEXAI=True
 

from google import genai
from google.genai.types import HttpOptions, Part

client = genai.Client(http_options=HttpOptions(api_version="v1"))

contents = [
    Part.from_uri(
        file_uri="gs://cloud-samples-data/generative-ai/video/pixel8.mp4",
        mime_type="video/mp4",
    ),
    "Provide a description of the video.",
]

response = client.models.count_tokens(
    model="gemini-2.0-flash-001",
    contents=contents,
)
print(response)
# Example output:
# total_tokens=16252 cached_content_token_count=None

Gen AI SDK for Go

Learn how to install or update the Gen AI SDK for Go.

To learn more, see the SDK reference documentation.

Set environment variables to use the Gen AI SDK with Vertex AI: 

# Replace the `GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT` and `GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION` values
# with appropriate values for your project.
export GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT=GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT
export GOOGLE_CLOUD_LOCATION=global
export GOOGLE_GENAI_USE_VERTEXAI=True
 

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"io"

	genai "google.golang.org/genai"
)

// countWithTxtAndVid shows how to count tokens with text and video inputs.
func countWithTxtAndVid(w io.Writer) error {
	ctx := context.Background()

	client, err := genai.NewClient(ctx, &genai.ClientConfig{
		HTTPOptions: genai.HTTPOptions{APIVersion: "v1"},
	})
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("failed to create genai client: %w", err)
	}

	modelName := "gemini-2.0-flash-001"
	contents := []*genai.Content{
		{Parts: []*genai.Part{
			{Text: "Provide a description of the video."},
			{FileData: &genai.FileData{
				FileURI:  "gs://cloud-samples-data/generative-ai/video/pixel8.mp4",
				MIMEType: "video/mp4",
			}},
		}},
	}

	resp, err := client.Models.CountTokens(ctx, modelName, contents, nil)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("failed to generate content: %w", err)
	}

	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Total: %d\nCached: %d\n", resp.TotalTokens, resp.CachedContentTokenCount)

	// Example response:
	// Total: 16252
	// Cached: 0

	return nil
}

const {VertexAI} = require('@google-cloud/vertexai');

/**
 * TODO(developer): Update these variables before running the sample.
 */
async function countTokens(
  projectId = 'PROJECT_ID',
  location = 'us-central1',
  model = 'gemini-2.0-flash-001'
) {
  // Initialize Vertex with your Cloud project and location
  const vertexAI = new VertexAI({project: projectId, location: location});

  // Instantiate the model
  const generativeModel = vertexAI.getGenerativeModel({
    model: model,
  });

  const req = {
    contents: [
      {
        role: 'user',
        parts: [
          {
            file_data: {
              file_uri:
                'gs://cloud-samples-data/generative-ai/video/pixel8.mp4',
              mime_type: 'video/mp4',
            },
          },
          {text: 'Provide a description of the video.'},
        ],
      },
    ],
  };

  const countTokensResp = await generativeModel.countTokens(req);
  console.log('Prompt Token Count:', countTokensResp.totalTokens);
  console.log(
    'Prompt Character Count:',
    countTokensResp.totalBillableCharacters
  );

  // Sent text to Gemini
  const result = await generativeModel.generateContent(req);
  const usageMetadata = result.response.usageMetadata;

  console.log('Prompt Token Count:', usageMetadata.promptTokenCount);
  console.log('Candidates Token Count:', usageMetadata.candidatesTokenCount);
  console.log('Total Token Count:', usageMetadata.totalTokenCount);
}
 
import com.google.cloud.vertexai.VertexAI;
import com.google.cloud.vertexai.api.Content;
import com.google.cloud.vertexai.api.CountTokensResponse;
import com.google.cloud.vertexai.generativeai.ContentMaker;
import com.google.cloud.vertexai.generativeai.GenerativeModel;
import com.google.cloud.vertexai.generativeai.PartMaker;
import java.io.IOException;

public class GetMediaTokenCount {
  public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
    // TODO(developer): Replace these variables before running the sample.
    String projectId = "your-google-cloud-project-id";
    String location = "us-central1";
    String modelName = "gemini-2.0-flash-001";

    getMediaTokenCount(projectId, location, modelName);
  }

  // Gets the number of tokens for the prompt with text and video and the model's response.
  public static int getMediaTokenCount(String projectId, String location, String modelName)
      throws IOException {
    // Initialize client that will be used to send requests.
    // This client only needs to be created once, and can be reused for multiple requests.
    try (VertexAI vertexAI = new VertexAI(projectId, location)) {
      GenerativeModel model = new GenerativeModel(modelName, vertexAI);

      Content content = ContentMaker.fromMultiModalData(
          "Provide a description of the video.",
          PartMaker.fromMimeTypeAndData(
              "video/mp4", "gs://cloud-samples-data/generative-ai/video/pixel8.mp4")
      );

      CountTokensResponse response = model.countTokens(content);

      int tokenCount = response.getTotalTokens();
      System.out.println("Token count: " + tokenCount);

      return tokenCount;
    }
  }
}

REST

To get the token count and the number of billable characters for a prompt by using the Vertex AI API, send a POST request to the publisher model endpoint.

MODEL_ID="gemini-2.0-flash-001"
PROJECT_ID="my-project"
TEXT="Provide a summary with about two sentences for the following article."
REGION="us-central1"

curl \
-X POST \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
https://${REGION}-aiplatform.googleapis.com/v1/projects/${PROJECT_ID}/locations/${REGION}/publishers/google/models/${MODEL_ID}:countTokens -d \
$'{
    "contents": [{
      "role": "user",
      "parts": [
        {
          "file_data": {
            "file_uri": "gs://cloud-samples-data/generative-ai/video/pixel8.mp4",
            "mime_type": "video/mp4"
          }
        },
        {
          "text": "'"$TEXT"'"
        }]
    }]
 }'

Pricing and quota

There is no charge or quota restriction for using the CountTokens API. The maximum quota for the CountTokens API is 3000 requests per minute.

What's next