Token efficiency: tools for developers

Tool ranking

Ranked by measured growth, normalized across sources. Raw values keep their source-specific window, shown under each tool; a change requires at least two snapshots from the last 7 days.

1. 1

   token-reducer

   Skill

   DormantLast commit 4 months ago · 2026-05-02

   ⚡ Cut Claude token usage by 90%+ — free, open-source, local-first context compression for Claude Code. Hybrid RAG (BM25 + ONNX vectors), AST chunking, reranking. No API needed.

   PythonLicense: MIT

   • ai-tools
   • bm25
   • claude-code
   • claude-code-plugin
   • context-compression

   githubcreated 5 months agomeasured growthOpen source ↗

   Install /plugin marketplace add Madhan230205/token-reducer

   44GitHub starsstable
2. 2

   mcp-recall

   Skill

   ActiveLast commit today · 2026-09-05

   mcp-recall compresses MCP tool outputs (94 KB → 3.5 KB · 96%) and stores full results in SQLite for retrieval — up to 30x more tool calls per session for heavy MCP workloads.

   TypeScriptLicense: MIT

   • bun
   • claude
   • claude-code
   • claude-code-plugin
   • context-window

   githubcreated 6 months agomeasured growthOpen source ↗

   Install /plugin marketplace add sakebomb/mcp-recall

   8GitHub starsstable
3. 3

   rosetta

   Other

   DormantLast commit 3 months ago · 2026-05-12

   Translate any language to English before Claude processes it. ~49% token savings combined with caveman.

   PythonLicense: MIT

   • claude-code
   • claude-code-skill
   • developer-tools
   • llm
   • multilingual

   githubcreated 3 months agomeasured growthOpen source ↗

   2GitHub starsstable
4. 4

   catalyst

   Skill

   ActiveLast commit 1 day ago · 2026-09-04

   Token-efficient Claude Code workspace with parallel agents and persistent memory. Research → Plan → Implement → Validate workflow.

   JavaScript

   • agent-memory
   • agentic-coding
   • ai-agents
   • ai-coding
   • claude-code-commands

   githubcreated 11 months agomeasured growthOpen source ↗

   Install /plugin marketplace add coalesce-labs/catalyst

   20GitHub starsstable
5. 5

   better-compact

   Skill

   ActiveLast commit 6 days ago · 2026-08-31

   Staged context pruning for OpenCode, Oh My Pi, pi, and Claude Code.

   TypeScriptLicense: AGPL-3.0

   • ai
   • ai-agents
   • claude-code
   • claude-code-plugin
   • coding-agent

   githubcreated 2 months agomeasured growthOpen source ↗

   Install /plugin marketplace add AshishKumar4/better-compact

   12GitHub starsstable
6. 6

   token_consumer

   CLI

   ActiveLast commit 8 days ago · 2026-08-28

   Measure and shrink the token cost of Claude Code skills, tier by tier: the always-on system-prompt tax, the per-invocation body, and on-demand references, each priced at the rate it is actually billed.

   PythonLicense: MIT

   • claude
   • claude-code
   • claude-code-skills
   • cli
   • cost-optimization

   githubcreated 39 days agomeasured growthOpen source ↗

   1GitHub starsstable
7. 7

   claude-lean-skill

   Other

   ActiveLast commit 2 months ago · 2026-06-10

   Turn your strongest model into a conductor: route each step to the cheapest capable model, and escalate only load-bearing pieces to a pricier reviewer that catches pitfalls early. Subscription, API, or hybrid.

   ShellLicense: MIT

   • ai-coding
   • claude
   • claude-code
   • claude-code-skill
   • cost-reduction

   githubcreated 5 months agomeasured growthOpen source ↗

   2GitHub starsstable
8. 8

   vibe-skill

   Skill

   ActiveLast commit 25 days ago · 2026-08-11

   Claude Code skill — delegate coding tasks to Mistral Vibe, supervise via git diff & save 50-90% Claude token usage

   Shell

   • claude
   • claude-ai
   • claude-ai-skills
   • claude-code
   • claude-skill

   githubcreated 3 months agomeasured growthOpen source ↗

   Install git clone https://github.com/pcx-wave/vibe-skill ~/.claude/skills/vibe-skill

   118GitHub starsstable
9. 9

   unclog

   MCP

   DormantLast commit 4 months ago · 2026-04-25

   Audit MCP servers, skills, and CLAUDE.md bloat eating your Claude Code context window.

   PythonLicense: MIT

   • claude
   • claude-code
   • claude-code-plugin
   • cli
   • context-window

   githubcreated 4 months agomeasured growthOpen source ↗

   35GitHub starsstable
10. 10

    cc-hud

    Skill

    ActiveLast commit 41 days ago · 2026-07-27

    Compact Claude Code statusline — zero-dependency, crash-free on Windows

    TypeScriptLicense: MIT

    • claude
    • claude-code
    • claude-code-plugin
    • context-window
    • deepseek

    githubcreated 5 months agomeasured growthOpen source ↗

    Install /plugin marketplace add WaterTian/cc-hud

    8GitHub starsstable
11. 11

    io.github.semihkayan/codeweave

    MCP

    DormantLast commit 3 months ago · 2026-05-26

    Save tokens while coding — your AI agent gets structured code context, not file dumps.

    ↓ 67 downloads/weekTypeScriptLicense: Apache-2.0

    mcpcreated 5 months agomeasured growthOpen source ↗

    Install claude mcp add codeweave -- npx @codeweave/mcp

    4GitHub starsstable
12. 12

    permafrost

    Skill

    ActiveLast commit 2 months ago · 2026-06-23

    Freeze Claude Code's prompt prefix so DeepSeek's automatic cache always hits — alignment proxy + coalescing + keepalive, installable as a CC plugin. Measured 64% cheaper on real Claude Code traffic.

    PythonLicense: MIT

    • cache-optimization
    • claude-code
    • claude-code-plugin
    • cost-optimization
    • deepseek

    githubcreated 2 months agomeasured growthOpen source ↗

    Install /plugin marketplace add jianzhichun/permafrost

    21GitHub starsstable
13. 13

    context-graph-compressor

    Skill

    DormantLast commit 3 months ago · 2026-05-30

    Convert long AI conversations into portable conversation state graphs for LLM handoffs.

    License: MIT

    • age
    • agent
    • ai
    • chatgpt
    • claude-ai

    githubcreated 3 months agomeasured growthOpen source ↗

    Install git clone https://github.com/Adityapal67/context-graph-compressor ~/.claude/skills/context-graph-compressor

    35GitHub starsstable
14. 14

    laconic

    Skill

    ActiveLast commit 55 days ago · 2026-07-12

    Token-compression skill. An adaptation of caveman — short common words, trust context, say just enough, be laconic.

    PythonLicense: MIT

    • ai-assistant
    • anthropic
    • brevity
    • claude
    • claude-code

    githubcreated 5 months agomeasured growthOpen source ↗

    Install /plugin marketplace add GabrielBarberini/laconic

    19GitHub starsstable
15. 15

    nekte

    Other

    DormantLast commit 4 months ago · 2026-04-09

    Agent-to-Agent coordination that doesn't waste your context window. Token-efficient protocol with progressive discovery, zero-schema invocation, gRPC transport, and task lifecycle management.

    TypeScriptLicense: MIT

    • agent-coordination
    • agent-to-agent
    • ai-protocol
    • ddd
    • grpc

    githubcreated 5 months agomeasured growthOpen source ↗

    1GitHub starsstable
16. 16

    io.github.Arrayo/smart-context-mcp

    MCP

    ActiveLast commit 2 months ago · 2026-06-11

    Reduces AI agent token usage by 90% via context compression and task checkpoint persistence.

    ↓ 98 downloads/weekJavaScriptLicense: MIT

    mcpcreated 5 months agomeasured growthOpen source ↗

    Install claude mcp add smart-context-mcp -- npx smart-context-mcp

    4GitHub starsstable
17. 17

    skills-janitor

    MCP

    ActiveLast commit 25 days ago · 2026-08-11

    Tinder for your Claude Code skills, subagents and MCP servers. Swipe away what wastes context, scan for prompt injection, get honest token costs. Fixes what it finds and actually deletes. Zero dependencies, Claude Code + Codex.

    ShellLicense: MIT

    • agent-skills
    • ai-agents
    • claude
    • claude-code
    • claude-code-marketplace

    githubcreated 5 months agomeasured growthOpen source ↗

    115GitHub starsstable
18. 18

    claude-code-eco

    Skill

    ActiveLast commit 20 days ago · 2026-08-16

    Eco mode for Claude Code. /eco: -31% to -73% output tokens with critical findings intact; /eco-max: up to -75% with lowered effort. Measured hardest on Claude Fable 5 (fable5), deep-studied on Sonnet 5, works on Opus 4.8 too. We publish our…

    JavaScriptLicense: MIT

    • ai-agents
    • anthropic
    • claude
    • claude-ai
    • claude-code

    githubcreated 2 months agomeasured growthOpen source ↗

    Install /plugin marketplace add sup3x/claude-code-eco

    33GitHub starsstable
19. 19

    bonsai

    Skill

    DormantLast commit 4 months ago · 2026-04-22

    Drop-in Cursor rules to cut AI response tokens (no filler/hedging, preserve code + technical strings). Includes local, reproducible benchmarks.

    JavaScriptLicense: MIT

    • benchmarking
    • bonsai
    • cursor
    • cursor-rules
    • developer-tools

    githubcreated 4 months agomeasured growthOpen source ↗

    Install git clone https://github.com/marcomondelli/bonsai ~/.claude/skills/bonsai

    0GitHub starsstable
20. 20

    claude-power-skills

    Skill

    ActiveLast commit 44 days ago · 2026-07-24

    20 power-user skills for Claude Code: session memory and consolidation, context compression, multi-agent orchestration, adversarial bug hunting, security review, calibrated estimation and decision archaeology. Drop-in SKILL.md files. Built…

    License: MIT

    • agent-skills
    • ai-agent
    • ai-coding
    • ai-developer-tools
    • ai-workflow

    githubcreated 5 months agomeasured growthOpen source ↗

    Install git clone https://github.com/irfad7/claude-power-skills ~/.claude/skills/claude-power-skills

    4GitHub starsstable
21. 21

    super-token-saver

    Skill

    ActiveLast commit 1 day ago · 2026-09-04

    Restore prior Claude Code AND Codex sessions with zero LLM calls. Cross-tool session handoff, cache-expiry prevention, real cost dashboard. One plugin, both hosts.

    JavaScriptLicense: Apache-2.0

    • anthropic-api
    • api-cost
    • billing-analytics
    • cache-management
    • claude-code

    githubcreated 5 months agomeasured growthOpen source ↗

    Install /plugin marketplace add ww-w-ai/super-token-saver

    31GitHub starsstable
22. 22

    io.github.dawitlabs/capsule

    MCP

    ActiveLast commit 2 months ago · 2026-07-03

    Compact, source-linked context packs that reduce token waste for coding agents.

    TypeScriptLicense: MIT

    mcpcreated 2 months agomeasured growthOpen source ↗

    Install claude mcp add capsule -- npx capsulectx

    4GitHub starsstable
23. 23

    distil

    MCP

    ActiveLast commit 7 days ago · 2026-08-29

    Context optimization for LLM agents: tool registry, result masking, budgeting, compaction.

    RustLicense: NOASSERTION

    mcpcreated 8 days agonewmeasured growthOpen source ↗

    Install claude mcp add distil -- npx @munhq/distil

    1GitHub starsstable
24. 24

    claude-rolling-context

    Skill

    ActiveLast commit 1 day ago · 2026-09-04

    Rolling context compression for Claude Code — never hit the context wall. Auto-compresses old messages while keeping recent context verbatim. Zero config, zero latency. Works as a Claude Code plugin.

    PythonLicense: MIT

    • ai-agent
    • ai-coding
    • anthropic
    • claude
    • claude-code

    githubcreated 6 months agomeasured growthOpen source ↗

    Install /plugin marketplace add NodeNestor/claude-rolling-context

    31GitHub starsstable
25. 25

    skill-manager

    Skill

    ActiveLast commit today · 2026-09-05

    Automatically detect and disable irrelevant Claude Code skills per project to save tokens and streamline your tech workflow.

    PythonLicense: MIT

    • agents
    • ai-agents
    • antigravity
    • claude
    • claude-code-plugins

    githubcreated 6 months agomeasured growthOpen source ↗

    Install git clone https://github.com/mrdenox109-nyx/skill-manager ~/.claude/skills/skill-manager

    5GitHub starsstable