Claude Code Uses 33,000 Tokens Before User Input and 75,000 in Full Setup
The high token overhead of Claude Code before user input raises operational costs and reduces the effective context window for developers using the tool.
Reporting from 1 source: GIGAZINE.
AI consulting firm Systima measured Claude Code's token consumption and found it sends about 33,000 tokens before the user's first prompt, compared to about 6,900 for OpenCode. In a practical configuration with instructions and MCP servers, Claude Code's initial load reached around 75,000 tokens.
The breakdown of Claude Code's initial request shows tool descriptions alone account for about 24,000 tokens, while the system prompt is about 6,500 tokens. OpenCode, by contrast, uses roughly 2,000 tokens for its system prompt and 10 tool descriptions. Adding a 72KB instruction file like CLAUDE.md adds about 20,000 tokens per request for both tools. Each Model Context Protocol server adds around 1,000 to 1,400 tokens. In a practical configuration with instruction files, five MCP servers, and plugins, Claude Code sent about 75,000 tokens before the user input, with 118 tools in the transmitted data totalling 311KB. The test used Claude Sonnet 4.5 as the AI model.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.