# How a token is born: tracing one chat request through a language model

> Original title: 一颗 token 的诞生

- Source: Dongxi NLP
- Published: 2026-10-29T12:38:07.000Z
- Bad Influence: https://badinfluence.news/items/cqsjden9nr3mc39f09oq5xstu
- Original: https://x.com/dongxi_nlp/status/2115785250303266937

## Summary

Dongxi NLP walks through how a chat model answers the question "Is OpenAI open?" using the small open-source Qwen3-0.6B model. The answer takes nine tokens, each produced by a full model run that scores all 151,936 vocabulary entries, with a template, tokenizer, prefill, sampling and detokenization steps. The article links these steps to observed behavior such as gradual output, varying answers and token-based pricing.

## Post

https://x.com/i/article/2115777748404760576