Free: see where your Claude Code token spend goes + the tactics that cut it

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.

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. 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 between 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. A 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. The paid Claude Code Token-Saver Kit adds: - The full 18-tactic playbook, ranked by $ saved per minute - A ready-to-merge cost-control settings.json model default, thinking cap, hygiene hook - A model-routing decision table - A drop-in cost-control.md rules file - Single-seat commercial license + 14-day refund Prices and model names change — always confirm current numbers in Anthropic's official docs. The tactics are durable.