Token Conservation

# Token Conservation Workflow

## When To Use
- Run at the start of every session and whenever prompt sizes or tool calls begin to spike.
- Mandatory before launching long-running analyses, wide diffs, or massive context loads.

## When NOT To Use

- Context-optimization already handles the scenario
- Simple queries with minimal context

## Required TodoWrite Items
1. `token-conservation:quota-check`
2. `token-conservation:context-plan`
3. `token-conservation:delegation-check`
4. `token-conservation:compression-review`
5. `token-conservation:logging`

## Step 1 – Quota Check (`quota-check`)
- Record current session duration and weekly usage (from `/status` or notebook).
  Note the 5-hour rolling cap and weekly cap highlighted in the Claude community notice.
- Capture remaining budget and set a max token target for this task.

## Step 2 – Context Plan (`context-plan`)
- **Set a discovery read budget BEFORE reading any files.** Count each `Read` call
  and each content-mode `Grep` as one read. Glob and files-with-matches Grep are free.
  - Implement from spec/requirements: **max 8 reads**
  - Bug fix at known location: **max 5 reads**
  - Refactor with known scope: **max 1 read per file being changed**
  - Open exploration: **max 15 reads**
- **Read order** (most valuable first): spec/requirements, files to modify,
  imports/interfaces, then stop and start writing.
- **When budget is spent**: ask the user if more context is needed. Do NOT
  self-authorize additional reads. Only explicit user approval overrides the budget.
- Prefer `Read` with `offset`/`limit` params or `Grep` tool over loading whole files.
  A `Read` targeting <50 lines counts as 0.5 reads. Avoid `cat`/`sed`/`awk` via Bash:
  Claude Code 2.1.21+ steers toward native file tools (Read, Edit, Write, Grep, Glob).
- **PDFs (Claude Code 2.1.30+)**: Use `Read` with `pages: "1-5"` for targeted PDF reading
  instead of loading entire documents. Large PDFs (>10 pages) return a lightweight
  reference when @-mentioned, so use the `pages` parameter to read specific sections.
  Hard limits: **100 pages max, 20MB max per PDF**. Exceeding these previously locked
  sessions permanently (fixed in 2.1.31).
- Convert prose instructions into bullet lists before prompting so only essential
  info hits the model.

## Step 3 – Delegation Check (`delegation-check`)
- Evaluate whether compute-intensive tasks can go to Qwen MCP or other external
  tooling (use `qwen-delegation` skill if needed).
- For local work, favor deterministic scripts (formatters, analyzers) instead
  of LLM reasoning when possible.

## Step 4 – Compression Review (`compression-review`)
- Summarize prior steps/results before adding new context.
  Remove redundant history, collapse logs, and avoid reposting identical code.
- Use `prompt caching` ideas: reference prior outputs instead of restating them
  when the model has already processed the information (cite snippet IDs).
- Decide whether the current thread should be compacted:
  - If only recent context is stale, use **"Summarize from here"** (Claude Code 2.1.32+)
    via the message selector to partially summarize the conversation. This preserves
    recent context while compressing older portions
  - If the active workflow is finished and earlier context will not be reused,
    instruct the user to run `/new`
  - If progress requires the existing thread but the window is bloated,
    prompt them to run `/compact` before continuing
- **Automatic memory** (Claude Code 2.1.32+): Claude now records and recalls session
  memories automatically. This adds minor token overhead but improves cross-session
  continuity. No action needed: be aware it contributes to baseli