# Show HN: Token-saviour – agent skill from benchmarking 9 token-saving tools

> Source: <https://github.com/vagkaratzas/token-saviour>
> Published: 2026-07-08 08:49:19+00:00

**Spend tokens where they matter.** An agent skill that routes every coding task to the most
token-efficient tool for the layer it stresses — instead of reflexively reading whole files,
dumping raw command output into context, or writing more code than asked.

Token cost has **four independent layers**, and a different tool owns each. token-saviour picks
one winner per layer — the best measured combination from a
[9-tool benchmark](https://github.com/vagkaratzas/token-consumption-benchmark) on a realistic
Python codebase:

| Layer | Tool | Measured |
|---|---|---|
Code-read input (symbols, callers, call paths, architecture) |
|

**−66%** alone — the dominant cost**input**(tests, builds, git, grep, listings)[rtk](https://github.com/rtk-ai/rtk)** prose output**(chatty replies, write-ups)[caveman](https://github.com/juliusbrussee/caveman)** code output**(implementations you write)[Ponytail](https://github.com/DietrichGebert/ponytail)Stacked (serena + rtk + caveman): **−69.6% total tokens** on the comprehension suite. For
code-generation work, swap caveman → Ponytail (≈ −64%).

The picks were re-validated (2026-07) against newer entrants — archex, Pare, lazy-cat — and every
incumbent held its layer. The runner-ups, the niches where they flip (e.g. Pare's structured
`pytest`

for test-dominated loops), and the full evidence live in
[ skills/token-saviour/references/](/vagkaratzas/token-saviour/blob/main/skills/token-saviour/references).

```
/plugin marketplace add vagkaratzas/token-saviour
/plugin install token-saviour@token-saviour
```

Or as a plain personal skill, no plugin system involved:

```
git clone https://github.com/vagkaratzas/token-saviour
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
cp -r token-saviour/skills/token-saviour ~/.claude/skills/
codex plugin marketplace add vagkaratzas/token-saviour
codex plugin add token-saviour@token-saviour
```

In Codex the skill is invoked with `@token-saviour`

. The VS Code Codex extension and the Codex
app read `AGENTS.md`

, which this repo ships — so it also works from the repo root with no
setup, and `cp AGENTS.md ~/.codex/AGENTS.md`

makes the always-on rules global.

Copy `AGENTS.md`

(compact, always-on ruleset) or `skills/token-saviour/SKILL.md`

(full
playbook) into whatever instruction file your agent reads.

**Classifies the task** by the layer it stresses: reading code, reading command output, writing prose, or writing code.**Routes to that layer's tool** with concrete commands (serena MCP calls,`rtk`

proxies, caveman terse mode, Ponytail rules) — and degrades gracefully to plain Read/Grep/Bash when a tool isn't installed (install/verify commands in).`references/tool_links.md`

**Refuses anti-patterns**: two code-read tools at once, rtk for comprehension, caveman on code, Ponytail on prose, tooling-up trivial one-line lookups.**Announces what it used**:`🪙 token-saviour: serena + rtk + caveman`

.

**serena**—`uv tool install -p 3.13 serena-agent`

— the one code-read tool (LSP symbols; also does semantic edits/renames).**rtk**—`brew install rtk`

or`cargo install --git https://github.com/rtk-ai/rtk`

— add only for noisy command loops.**caveman**— see[repo](https://github.com/juliusbrussee/caveman)— add only when prose brevity is the bottleneck.** Ponytail**—`/plugin marketplace add DietrichGebert/ponytail`

— add only when code-generation work is the bottleneck.

All numbers come from [token-consumption-benchmark](https://github.com/vagkaratzas/token-consumption-benchmark):
real tools, real artifacts, one tokenizer (`tiktoken o200k_base`

), per-task tables, and honest
limitations (modeled-not-metered, small clean codebase, single run). Summary:
[ references/benchmark_results.md](/vagkaratzas/token-saviour/blob/main/skills/token-saviour/references/benchmark_results.md).

MIT — see [LICENSE](/vagkaratzas/token-saviour/blob/main/LICENSE).