Glossary · Models & inference
Streaming
Delivering incremental response events before the complete result is ready. A stream may contain token text, structured deltas, tool-call arguments, usage metadata, or status events depending on the API.
Why it matters
It improves perceived responsiveness, but it does not reduce the model's actual time to produce a complete answer.
Common confusion
Network transport, event shape, and chunk boundaries are provider-specific and are not guaranteed to align with words or tokens.
Related terms
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