Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know about Tokenade — compatibility, privacy, pricing, and setup.
Frequently asked questions
- What is Tokenade?
- Tokenade is a local MCP proxy that automatically cuts the token usage of AI coding agents (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex CLI, GitHub Copilot, Kilo, Windsurf, Cline, and more). It intercepts agent–LLM traffic, filters noisy shell output, replaces whole-file reads with skeleton or semantic search, and loads MCP tools lazily — without touching your code or prompts.
- Which agents and IDEs does Tokenade work with?
- Tokenade works with any MCP-compatible agent: Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot (agent mode), Kilo Code, Windsurf (Cascade), Cline, Codex CLI, and any other MCP client. OS support: Linux, macOS, and Windows.
- Is Tokenade free?
- Yes. Create a free account (no credit card) and run `tokenade login`: you get a quota of ~10 million tokens saved per month, on unlimited machines. Beyond that, Pro is $24.90/mo (100M tokens/month, unlimited machines, then $0.30 per million saved on pay-as-you-save), and Enterprise (unlimited tokens, fleet-sized) is custom-priced — email [email protected]. You can cancel anytime.
- What happens when I hit the 10 million free-tier cap?
- Tokenade passes your commands through unchanged (no optimization) until the quota resets on the 1st of the month. Nothing breaks — you only lose the savings. To keep saving beyond the cap, upgrade to Pro.
- How many machines can I use with one Pro license?
- There is no limit: both the Free and Pro plans cover unlimited machines. `tokenade login` links each machine to your account (required) so its savings count toward your monthly quota.
- Does Tokenade send my code or prompts to external servers?
- No. Tokenade runs entirely locally. The only telemetry it sends is token-savings metadata: operation type + before/after token counts. No code, no prompts, no file paths are transmitted. Any secrets that appear in shell output are redacted before logging.
- Which operating systems does Tokenade support?
- Linux, macOS, and Windows are all officially supported. Installation is via npm/npx — no native binary required.
- How do I install and activate Tokenade?
- Three commands: `npm install -g @tokenade/cli`, `tokenade install`, then `tokenade login`. The second detects your agents and configures them automatically (hooks + MCP); the third connects your free account (required) to activate the optimizations and credit your savings to the dashboard. No account yet? Create one for free (no credit card).
- How many tokens does Tokenade actually save?
- Savings depend on the agent and project. On typical Claude Code development sessions, users report 40–80% fewer tokens consumed. The Tokenade dashboard shows your real-time savings.
- Is Tokenade open source?
- Tokenade's proxy core is source-available under the MIT license. You can audit the code and verify exactly what is intercepted and how. The source is on GitHub.
- How is Tokenade different from other token optimizers?
- Most optimizers work at the prompt level (truncation, summarization). Tokenade works at the MCP transport layer: it structurally replaces expensive tools (full file reads, verbose bash) with compact equivalents (skeleton, semantic_search, exec_compact). The result is systematic reduction without quality loss — not an approximate summary.
- How do I cancel my Pro subscription?
- Cancel from the Tokenade dashboard → Settings → Subscription, or email [email protected]. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period; Pro access remains active until then.