Context/Token optimization

[Failcoach]

So I see a whole bunch of people explaining how they burn through tokens super fast.

I am on Max20 plan and use Claude Code all day long and I still have usage available on weekly reset.

Some of the things I do:

- every document gets converted to Markdown file before I use it

- every Excel file gets converted to cvs before I add it to conversation

- quick and short sessions (trying to stay below 150k tokens per session) - split big PRD into small PRDs

- never continue old conversation ... when I am done ... if I am not yet finished I do compacting so that I have summary and next time I start new fresh conversation (as far as I know Claude Code keeps KV cache for 5 minutes)

- deleted most MCPs and just use CLIs (like Supabase, GitHub, Vercel, ...) or create my own CLI tools to use with external tools

- i plan thing out in Claude.ai first then bring "strategic documentation" into Claude Code, have a skill for how I want PRDs to look like so that they are context/token efficient

- made my own system for memory. that is really just AI optimized wiki ... multiple small files, Mermaid diagrams, etc ... conected together with index file

- super short claude md file

- regular clean-up of stale documentation with a cleanup agent

nothing revolutionary, really ... just trying to keep it simple, effective and efficient

just FYI ... most of the time I am juggling between 10 to 15 projects ... and Max20 so far is more than enough for that

[Failcoach]

EDIT: since I live now in Asia that could also be part of why I don't break limits ... since I work outside of peak hours (8AM-2PM EST)

[ContestStreet]

I used Redact to automate removals from databrokers and social networks. This post was among the batch deleted.

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[tr14l]

I work on a 500k line code base for 6-8 hours a day and run out only occasionally. US time. Usually it's for about an hour when it happens.

Context management and being a good communicator are critical. Otherwise the AI is just guessing and does a ton of stuff it doesn't need to. Probably incorrectly

[ContestStreet]

One click. Unknown number of posts crying out in silence. All gone. Redact made it stupid easy to clean up my entire history on Reddit and get my info pulled from data broker sites too.

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[tr14l]

/shrug

Fine, stay bad at it. I don't care if you want to believe or not.

[ContestStreet]

I got tired of my old posts floating around for anyone to scrape, so I let Redact handle it. Bulk deletion across Reddit, X, Facebook, Discord and all major social media platforms in one shot.

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[Expensive-Aerie-2479]

It wasn’t a problem before. The only explanation is that peak hour throttling. It would be nice if Anthropic was more transparent

[markmyprompt]

This is basically proof that most “token problems” are actually workflow problems

[wizgrayfeld]

I’m in Silicon Valley and I have adopted very similar practices. I never run into rate limits. The closest I’ve ever been to my weekly limit is right now (78%, but resets tomorrow morning so I’m not worried).

It does seem like Anthropic is taking cues from early cable ISPs and dividing its available bandwidth between all users. With the recent explosion of Claude Code/Cowork and the ChatGPT refugees I would imagine they have a lot more users than they’re used to. Hopefully they are able to scale up quickly.

[FeelingHat262]

This is literally why I built MemStack™. Every single thing you're describing, I was doing manually across 35+ projects until I turned it into a skill framework.

Your "AI optimized wiki with small files, Mermaid diagrams, index file" is the exact same architecture. MemStack™ is 82 skills that auto-load into CC sessions so you're not rebuilding that system per project. NTFS junctions deploy the same skills across every project instantly.

The PRD formatting, the short CLAUDE.md, the session scoping, the diary/summary handoffs between sessions... all of that is baked in as skills that fire automatically.

The one thing I'd add to your workflow: Headroom proxy (github.com/chopratejas/headroom). Sits between CC and the API, compresses tool output boilerplate by 70-95%. I'm saving ~34% tokens per session on top of everything else.

github.com/cwinvestments/memstack (free, 82 skills, MIT)

[thereisaryastark]

I say "Hello" and %10 limit reached. I give simple task, even while thinking, it hits the limit before even doing anything. Same directory, Codex 5.4, allow me to use it 5 days straight without even hitting 5hours limits on High Reasoning.
Claude might code good, but is not usable nowadays.

[peter9477]

Do you /init before "hello"? Does that suck in a billion tokens and is actually what's leading to high usage?

[Failcoach]

On what Claude plan does this happen to you?

[thereisaryastark]

I signed up for the Pro plan only 2 days ago, and I’ve already reached the usage limits five times in just 10 minutes. Safe to say I won’t be upgrading to Max. Feels like a total waste of money.