---
title: Record Token Usage After Streaming Object
description: Learn how to record token usage when streaming structured data using the AI SDK and Node
url: "https://ai-sdk.dev/v5/cookbook/node/stream-object-record-token-usage"
docs_index: /llms.txt
tags:
  - node
  - streaming
  - structured data
  - observability
---

> For an index of all documentation, see [/llms.txt](/llms.txt).

When you're streaming structured data with [`streamObject`](/v5/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/stream-object),
you may want to record the token usage for billing purposes.

## `onFinish` Callback

You can use the `onFinish` callback to record token usage.
It is called when the stream is finished.

```ts title='index.ts' {15-17}
import { streamObject } from 'ai';
import { z } from 'zod';

const result = streamObject({
  model: 'openai/gpt-4.1',
  schema: z.object({
    recipe: z.object({
      name: z.string(),
      ingredients: z.array(z.string()),
      steps: z.array(z.string()),
    }),
  }),
  prompt: 'Generate a lasagna recipe.',
  onFinish({ usage }) {
    console.log('Token usage:', usage);
  },
});
```

## `usage` Promise

The [`streamObject`](/v5/docs/reference/ai-sdk-core/stream-object) result contains a `usage` promise that resolves to the total token usage.

```ts title='index.ts' {29,32}
import { streamObject, TokenUsage } from 'ai';
import { z } from 'zod';

const result = streamObject({
  model: 'openai/gpt-4.1',
  schema: z.object({
    recipe: z.object({
      name: z.string(),
      ingredients: z.array(z.string()),
      steps: z.array(z.string()),
    }),
  }),
  prompt: 'Generate a lasagna recipe.',
});

// your custom function to record token usage:
function recordTokenUsage({
  inputTokens,
  outputTokens,
  totalTokens,
}: TokenUsage) {
  console.log('Prompt tokens:', inputTokens);
  console.log('Completion tokens:', outputTokens);
  console.log('Total tokens:', totalTokens);
}

// use as promise:
result.usage.then(recordTokenUsage);

// use with async/await:
recordTokenUsage(await result.usage);

// note: the stream needs to be consumed because of backpressure
for await (const partialObject of result.partialObjectStream) {
}
```

---

For a semantic overview of all documentation, see [/sitemap.md](/sitemap.md)

For an index of all available documentation, see [/llms.txt](/llms.txt)

For agent-facing discovery, including API and MCP surfaces, see [/agents.md](/agents.md)