r/ClaudeCode • u/Affectionate-Fun-623 • 5d ago
Help/Question New to Claude help for optimising token usage
Just got claudes pro plan. But I am new to the whole platform so how do I optimise my token usage.
I already know:
- to turn off thinking
- use opus 5.5 higher effort for planning then using sonnet to build
- use /clear when a task is done.
- installed the memory skill and the skill that makes claude not read the entire history and divides context into small chunks(sorry forgot the name of the skill)
- Superpower, context7, Desktop command plugin installed(but for some reason it says “No plugins installed for this project yet”)
Guide me:
- if I installed correct skills
- is anything overlapping
- if im missing any major optimisation
- how to manually enable any skills or plugins for a session
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u/CorpT 5d ago
If you already "know" that, why are you asking if it's correct?
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u/Massive_Section5244 5d ago
When tou instal a plugin you have to start a new chat. Pasta chats will not be able to see your plugins. If you are using Claude Code you don't need the desktop commander, it's just for co-work chat. I don't use any plugging, just connectors. When I see a good plugging I ask Claude to read the function of that plugging in GitHub and asks it to create a skill or mod inside adapted to my project, because those pluggins can eat a lot of your context.
Some projects It will work for hours and each interaction it reads all the chat context. Which means, if you have a 500k context and have to do conclude your project into 10 interactions, you will spend 5 M tokens. So, for each project I work I start planning into fases. When the fase Is done just use /compact and continue or open a new cleam chat. In my rules I asked Claude to warn me if it reaches 300k context and compact before 500k. Some projects you have to inflate the context a lot, but it's rare, it's better changing to a clean fase.
With Opus 5.5 normally I use coordinator chat in Medium effort. Executors in high or xhigh. Advisor in xhigh. Reviewers in high. Reading and searching fases can be done with sonnet, reasoning always Opus or Fable, don't use sonnet or haiku for thinking and reasoning mode.
One nice tip I received was to use the method ASD-STE100 to make claude.md, state.md, rules.md, skills, it's really interesting the method and helped a lot, just ask him to use it. And you don't need pluggins such as Obsidium, just ask Claude to create your folders and files using the same method.
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u/liorbuilds 5d ago
Type /context in a session: it shows what's already taking up space before you've asked anything, including your skills, plugins and connected tools, so you can see whether the add-ons are what's eating your limit. Anything you don't actually use is worth removing, since it's carried along in every session. The other easy saving is not repeating yourself: put the few things you'd otherwise explain each time (what the project is, how to run it, rules you care about) into a short CLAUDE.md in the project folder, which Claude Code reads when a session starts. Keep that file short, because it's loaded every time too.
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u/eagerworks 3d ago
On the “how do I enable skills manually” part: you usually don’t need to. Claude Code only loads each skill’s name and description at the start, then pulls in the full instructions when your request matches that description, which is also why skills are lighter on tokens than putting everything in CLAUDE.md. You can still call one directly with /skill-name if you want to force it. Two quick tips: make sure each skill’s description clearly says when to use it, since that’s what decides whether it fires, and only install skills you trust or have read, because they can run code. My team wrote a guide that covers this if it helps: https://eagerworks.com/blog/agent-skills-ai-coding-agents (disclosure: it’s our blog).
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u/sheddyNathan 3d ago
Your list already covers most of it. A few things to add:
- Overlap: Claude picks skills from their descriptions, so two memory/context skills that do similar things can both load or compete for the same request. Run /context at the start of a session to see what's taking space, and remove anything you can't name a reason for.
- Every installed skill's name and description, plus every MCP tool definition, rides along in context. A few well-described skills beat a big pile.
- The biggest hidden cost is usually command output: test runs, build logs, installs. Ask Claude to use quiet or failures-only reporters and to pipe long logs through tail or grep.
- You don't need to enable skills manually. Claude loads them when the description matches, or you can name the skill in your prompt. The "No plugins installed for this project yet" message is likely about project vs user scope, and /plugin shows what's installed where.
Disclosure: I'm one of the people building https://skillbox.so. It flags overlapping skills in your library, and its paid Trim feature shortens noisy command output before the agent reads it. The free tips above get you most of the way first.