Claude-context-lint tool audits token overhead in Claude Code projects

What it does

claude-context-lint analyzes Claude Code projects to reveal hidden context token consumption that occurs before any user input. Every Claude Code conversation starts with overhead from CLAUDE.md files, skill descriptions, MCP tool schemas, and the base system prompt, all of which consume context tokens immediately.

Key features and findings

The tool scans your CLAUDE.md files, skills, MCP configurations, and system prompt. It shows per-turn token cost versus on-invocation cost, accounting for the fact that skills don't load fully every turn. It detects near-duplicate skills that waste tokens and flags MCP servers that could use ToolSearch to defer tool loading.

According to the developer's test, 18% of a 200K context window was consumed before the first turn. The biggest contributor was MCP servers loading all tool schemas upfront instead of deferring them.

Example output

Claude Code Context Audit
─────────────────────────────
CLAUDE.md 1,240 tokens
Skills (32 loaded) 4,800 tokens MEDIUM
⚠ 3 near-duplicate skills detected
MCP Servers (3) 14,100 tokens CRITICAL
postgres 6,600 tokens (22 tools) [always loaded]
System Prompt 8,500 tokens (base overhead)
─────────────────────────────
TOTAL OVERHEAD: 28,640 tokens
Used Before Input: 14.3%

Specific recommendations

The tool generates concrete recommendations with token savings estimates. In the example output, it suggests:

• Enable ToolSearch for "postgres" MCP → −6,270 tokens
• Shorten 12 verbose skill descriptions → −1,840 tokens
• Potential savings: 8,530 tokens (29.8% reduction)

Installation and usage

Run with zero installation using: npx claude-context-lint

Run it in any project with a .claude/ directory. The scan takes about 2 seconds.

Technical details

The tool is available on npm at https://www.npmjs.com/package/claude-context-lint and on GitHub at https://github.com/skibidiskib/claude-context-lint. It was built entirely by Claude Code and is MIT licensed.