{"slug": "free-see-where-your-claude-code-token-spend-goes-the-tactics-that-cut-it", "title": "Free: see where your Claude Code token spend goes + the tactics that cut it", "summary": "A developer has released a free tool that tracks token spending in Claude Code sessions, alongside a paid kit containing 18 cost-reduction tactics. The free component includes a read-only script that scans local Claude Code transcripts to display input, output, and cached tokens with cache-hit percentages. The paid upgrade offers a full playbook ranked by savings per minute, model-routing decision tables, and drop-in configuration files for controlling costs.", "body_md": "Post this publicly (GitHub gist / repo README / Reddit / Show HN). It's the runnable, free-to-try hook that makes Show HN and Reddit value-first posts legitimate. The full kit (18 tactics + drop-in configs + rules + scripts) is the paid upgrade.\n\n**Route the model to the task.** Haiku for mechanical edits/scaffolding, Sonnet for daily feature work, Opus only for genuinely hard reasoning. Pinning everything to the top model is the most expensive default there is.Every turn re-sends the whole conversation as input tokens; don't pay to drag a finished task into the next one.`/clear`\n\nbetween unrelated tasks.**Stop re-reading files you just edited.** The edit already confirmed success — re-reading to \"verify\" doubles the cost for zero new info.**(API) Turn on prompt caching + the Batch API.** Cached input and non-realtime batch jobs are dramatically cheaper. Most people never switch them on.**Cap extended thinking on routine sessions.** Great for hard problems, pure overhead on easy ones.\n\nA read-only script (Windows PowerShell + bash) that scans your local Claude Code transcripts and shows input/output/cached tokens + cache-hit % over the last N days. Run it weekly; watch the number drop. (Included in this sample.)\n\nThe paid **Claude Code Token-Saver Kit** adds:\n\n- The full 18-tactic playbook, ranked by $ saved per minute\n- A ready-to-merge cost-control\n`settings.json`\n\n(model default, thinking cap, hygiene hook) - A model-routing decision table\n- A drop-in\n`cost-control.md`\n\nrules file - Single-seat commercial license + 14-day refund\n\nPrices and model names change — always confirm current numbers in Anthropic's official docs. The tactics are durable.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/free-see-where-your-claude-code-token-spend-goes-the-tactics-that-cut-it", "canonical_source": "https://gist.github.com/MrLucas11/45c770723fd216da4a1a97645f446eea", "published_at": "2026-06-04 07:25:39+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-04 07:43:24.548192+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-tools", "large-language-models", "artificial-intelligence", "ai-products", "ai-infrastructure"], "entities": ["Claude Code", "Haiku", "Sonnet", "Opus", "GitHub", "Reddit", "Batch API"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/free-see-where-your-claude-code-token-spend-goes-the-tactics-that-cut-it", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/free-see-where-your-claude-code-token-spend-goes-the-tactics-that-cut-it.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/free-see-where-your-claude-code-token-spend-goes-the-tactics-that-cut-it.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/free-see-where-your-claude-code-token-spend-goes-the-tactics-that-cut-it.jsonld"}}