Articles
Practical guides on cutting the token usage of AI coding agents — Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Copilot, Windsurf — without losing any capability.
Agentic Coding: What It Is and Its Real Cost
Agentic coding is when an AI agent plans and executes multi-step coding tasks on its own. That autonomy is powerful — and it's why token costs can spiral fast.
Paul IrollaRead article →Best Claude Code Token Optimizers (2026)
Ranked roundup of every real Claude Code token optimizer — rtk, LLMLingua, claude-context, token-optimizer, codegraph, tokensave, ccusage, and Tokenade — with honest strengths, real limitations, and a comparison table.
Paul IrollaRead article →Best MCP Servers for Claude Code
The best MCP servers for Claude Code, ranked by usefulness, real token cost and setup effort — including which ones quietly inflate every turn, and one that cuts that cost.
Paul IrollaRead article →What Is Vibe Coding?
Vibe coding is building software by describing intent to an AI and accepting what it produces — powerful for prototyping, expensive in tokens. Here's how it works and how to keep costs down.
Paul IrollaRead article →Best AI Coding Tools (2026)
Ranked: the 7 strongest AI coding tools in 2026 — Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf, Cline, Aider and Codex CLI — with real pricing, honest limitations, and the one layer that cuts the token bill across all of them.
Paul IrollaRead article →How to Reduce AI Coding Agent Token Usage
AI coding agents burn tokens by re-reading files, dumping directories and shipping verbose output every turn. Here are the levers that actually cut the bill — and how to apply them.
Paul IrollaRead article →How to Reduce Claude Code Token Usage
Claude Code burns tokens on eager file reads, unfiltered tool output, bloated MCP manifests and runaway transcripts. Here's how to cut each one without losing quality.
Paul IrollaRead article →Context Engineering for AI Coding Agents
Context engineering decides what your AI coding agent sees, in what form, and in what order. Get it right and you get better answers at a fraction of the token cost.
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