Reduce Claude Token Usage by 50%

Re:Reduce Claude Token Usage by 50% by Thrilok2802 on Friday February 27, 2026 @02:11AM (#47177508)

Based on my observations, creating a directory with relevant claude.md files tends to increase file count, and claude --resume already stores code-related data. Given this, I'm wondering if it might be worth considering an alternative approach — summarizing the entire code and its actions instead. From what I understand, Claude handles this through a planning process, where we define a to-do list before starting a project or idea, iterate on it until we're satisfied, and then ask it to build accordingly. With this approach in place, I'm curious whether HAM is still necessary — just wanted to share this thought for consideration, not to dismiss anything.

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Re:Reduce Claude Token Usage by 50% by Luseniik on Friday February 27, 2026 @07:45AM (#47179891)

Good question and appreciate the thoughtful framing.

--resume and planning mode solve different problems than HAM. --resume carries forward one session's state. Planning mode structures one task. Neither gives the agent persistent knowledge about the codebase across sessions, across tasks, or across developers.

If you start a fresh session tomorrow in src/api/, --resume doesn't help unless you're literally continuing yesterday's session. HAM means every new session in that directory starts with the right context — conventions, patterns, decisions — regardless of what came before.

They're complementary. I use all three together.

The file count concern is fair though. Not every directory needs a CLAUDE.md. v0.2 adds a routing section in the root file that maps which directories actually need context files. So instead of scattering them everywhere, you're explicit about which folders the agent frequently works in and only those get context files. Fewer files, higher quality.

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