When building applications with large language models (LLMs), one of the most overlooked costs is how structured data is represented. Most systems use JSON. And JSON is inefficient for LLM input. What is KODA? KODA (Knowledge-Oriented Data Abstraction) is a schema-first data format designed to reduce token usage when sending structured data to LLMs. It works by: Defining structure once (schema-first) Encoding values positionally Eliminating repeated keys found in JSON KODA is optimized for: RAG pipelines Tool calling systems Agent workflows High-volume structured LLM input The Problem with JSON in LLM Pipelines JSON repeats field names for every record.…