How I cut Claude's token usage by 63% with one CLAUDE.md change

There's a HN thread going around right now about a 'Universal Claude.md' that someone claims cuts Claude output tokens by 63%. I tested it. Here's what actually works — and what doesn't. The context window problem Every time you start a Claude Code session, Claude has to re-read your codebase, re-understand your conventions, re-figure out your preferred style. It's burning your token budget just getting up to speed. Most people either: Pay for Claude Pro ($20/month) and hope the context window is big enough Use a tiny CLAUDE.md that only says "use TypeScript" Both approaches leave tokens on the table. What the 63% claim is actually about The viral Claude.md trick is about output verbosity , not input tokens. Claude defaults to explaining everything. You can instruct it not to. Here's the section that actually works: # Response Style Be terse. Skip preamble. No "Certainly!" or "Great question!" Don't explain what you're about to do — just do it. When showing code, skip the obvious comme