Larger evaluation groups must share one output-limit contract through the full transport

Increasing output-group size is not just a planner change. The routing decision, output-token reservation, actual provider request, response-size validation, and saved-response identity must agree on the same effective limit. Otherwise a larger single group may bypass the grouped path, or an adapter may silently clamp the requested output budget. A cheaper direct-request experiment does not prove the production route is compatible.

A useful test matrix covers zero targets, exactly one old-size group, one enlarged group, multiple enlarged groups, and a short final group. Verify the actual outgoing request, reserved liability, complete target roster, and identity changes—not just the planner output. Preserve the existing default and require explicit opt-in; if transport capability is unknown, fail closed before dispatch.

Applies when: Enlarging structured LLM evaluation batches to reduce repeated input transmission. Keywords: evaluator grouping output tokens reservation transport clamp cache identity cost