🧠 How to Save Context Tokens When Using Claude Code

This is a personal reference workflow for minimizing token usage while maintaining project continuity across Claude Code (Sonnet 4 with file access).

✅ Setup: Populate `CLAUDE.md`

Claude loads CLAUDE.md automatically at session start.

Keep it under 5k tokens. Claude uses this as project memory.

Example prompt to Claude:

Populate and maintain CLAUDE.md with all relevant project-wide context so you can resume work efficiently without me repeating context each session. Include:
- Project summary & active features
- Tech stack
- Code style & naming conventions
- Known bugs and next TODOs
- Test scenarios we haven’t completed yet (if any)
Keep it under 5k tokens total.

If it becomes impossible to keep all relevant info under 5k tokens, split less critical sections into separate files under the docs/ directory. For example, if there are details about a future system version (e.g., MK2), create a separate markdown file like docs/mk2_notes.md instead of bloating CLAUDE.md.

🛍 Session Workflow

🖚 End of Session

Run:

/compact Focus on code samples and API usage

(You can change the focus as needed — e.g., "design decisions" or "test coverage, or just /compact, but will have more fluff and save less on tokens")

Prompt Claude:

Append that summary to docs/progress.md
Also save a standalone summary to session_summary.md

Do NOT run /clear unless you want to reset everything.
- It's safer to just exit or start a new chat.
- Session will stay available if you want to revisit it later.

🆑 Start of Session

Start new chat
Load:

@CLAUDE.md
@docs/progress.md
@session_summary.md (optional)

🔁 Every ~40 Messages

Run:

/compact Focus on code samples and API usage

Prompt Claude:

Save that summary to session_summary.md

This keeps the working context tight and avoids token bloat.

📁 FYI: Structured Project Logs

Maintain progress.md, log.md, etc. for running session history.

Log Workflow:

Update at end of each session
Claude can read it at session start
Load it manually with @progress.md if needed

Pro tip: Keep logs in docs/ and only load when needed.

📆 FYI: Modular File Context with `@file` References

Instead of pasting long blocks:

Split reusable info into standalone .md or .yaml files
Load on demand via @filename.md

Good for:

Command syntax
API docs
Configs / routes / edge cases

🎯 FYI: Prompt Engineering for Token Efficiency

Write like a spec. Be precise.

Bad:

Hey can you fix this bug?

Good:

Fix the off-by-one bug in utils.py line 12 that causes the last item to be skipped. Input: list of ints. Output: adjusted list. Keep type hints.

Other tips:

Ask grouped questions instead of one-by-one
Avoid redundant background unless necessary

🧹 Summary

Use CLAUDE.md for persistent context (≤ 5k tokens)
End sessions with /compact, then log to progress.md and optionally session_summary.md
Start sessions by loading only needed files
Compact every ~40 messages to keep things clean
Use modular files and focused prompts to minimize token load

Keep it lean. Let Claude handle memory. You just keep shipping.

artemgetmann/claude-code-token-saving-guide.md