Cut Claude Code token costs by shrinking what each turn re-sends: history, tools, files, and thinking — then layer Power Claude Token Saver and session hygiene. Compliance-safe; no OAuth pooling claims.
TL;DR
Token cost is dominated by context shape, not keystrokes. Cap thinking, ignore junk paths, fewer MCP servers, Sonnet-by-default, short sessions.
Hub: stop hitting usage limits · Spoke: why each turn costs more.
Levers (ordered by impact)
- Model routing (Sonnet bulk / Opus rare)
- Thinking caps + subagent model
.claudeignore- MCP prune
- Session length / handoff notes
- Power Claude Token Saver (local pre-CLI)
FAQ
Is Max cheaper than hygiene?
Often no — waste scales with agent loops on every tier.