Token-saving tools made my Claude Code usage go up. Here's the measurement.

Description and use

Token‑saving tools increased Claude Code usage but raised overall token cost. All tasks were completed correctly.

The author repeatedly hit Claude Code’s weekly token limit while working on routine tasks.

All three tools improved token efficiency but increased overall cost: rtk +7.1%, caveman +10.9%, pxpipe +196.7%. Correctness remained 100%.

Define 5 fixed tasks
Run each task 3 times with claude -p --output-format json
Measure cost‑weighted tokens: input 1, cache write 1.25, cache read 0.1, output 5
Record correctness
Compare tools to baseline

5 fixed tasks: fix a bug, scan a log, check git changes, summarize a CSV, summarize test results

Cost-weighted tokens = input 1, cache write 1.25, cache read 0.1, output 5

rtk v0.51.0 compresses shell output via a hook

caveman v3.1.0 makes replies ultra-terse

pxpipe v0.14.0 renders bulky context as images via a local proxy

All three tools improved token efficiency but increased overall cost: rtk +7.1%, caveman +10.9%, pxpipe +196.7%. Correctness remained 100%.