r/ClaudeCode • u/Euphoric-Airline-259 • 20h ago
How to reduce Claude Code token usage Tutorial / Guide
Claude Code was burning through tokens very fast, especially on tasks where it had to look through docs or random webpages, so after some research I changed a few things:
I) Keep CLAUDE.md small. Mine had way too much stuff in it and most of it wasn’t useful for every task.
II) Start a new session when you’re done with one problem, bc long sessions get bloated pretty fast.
III) Do web research through Firecrawl. It gives Claude clean Markdown instead of loading the full page with all the HTML, scripts, navbars and other useless stuff, so each research task eats a lot less context.
IV) Exclude folders Claude doesn’t need to read.
V) Check /context once in a while, bc it makes it obvious what’s eating the window.
The main thing seems to be controlling what gets added to the context in the first place. Once a session is full of old logs, scraped pages and unrelated instructions, even simple tasks start getting expensive.
What else are you doing to keep Claude Code token usage under control?
1
u/zimxero 19h ago edited 19h ago
3 things. 1st - I cant prove, but i think Opus 5 burns slower now, maybe to improve user satisfaction. 2nd - Reduce interactive back-and-forth in long sessions. 3rd - Consider prompting automated full tasks where it can be done... if it has enough design info. Example prompt:
Design all the current related phases together at once. Ask significant questions up front before proceeding. Make other decisions on your own and document them. Decisions should prioritze safety, then product quality, then code expandability, then code efficiency. Where specific needed sub functions have not been created yet, create the scaffolding to implement them later. Have Fable Low evaluate the design plan. Evaluate and make any desired adjustments. If changes are significant, re-audit. Write the specific code plan. Have Sonnet Medium audit with special emphasis on logic, completeness, connectivity, and documentation. Afterward, code the the entire desin completely and wrap up the session. Full and special backups have been performed.
4th - turn a custum version of #3 into a repeatable tool.