RTK, Headroom and Context Mode each reduce the tool output sent to your model, according to their repositories ^[2]^[3]^[4]. I would try one at a time so you can check what changed and whether Claude still gets the details your task needs.

Check your current session usage

Run this inside Claude Code before changing your setup. Anthropic documents session token usage and estimated costs under /usage ^[1].

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/usage

You should see usage information for your account and session. Per the docs, the session cost is an estimate; subscription billing does not use that estimate ^[1]. Save the figures alongside the task you asked Claude to do.

Try RTK for shell output

The RTK README documents a Homebrew install and a check that distinguishes this package from other tools named RTK ^[2]. Run these commands in your terminal.

bash

brew install rtk
rtk --version
rtk gain

You should see the installed version and RTK's savings dashboard ^[2]. Its Claude Code integration uses a hook to rewrite supported shell commands to RTK equivalents.

Warning: The following command changes your global Claude Code integration. The README says it also offers proxy configuration; review those choices before accepting them ^[2].

bash

rtk init -g

After using Claude, run rtk gain again to inspect RTK's recorded savings ^[2].

Try Headroom through its local proxy

Headroom's README documents an isolated install with uv. Its wrapper starts a local proxy and launches Claude through it ^[3].

Warning: The wrapper also installs Serena for code navigation and registers it for the Claude project in ~/.claude.json, per the README. Review that integration if you already manage MCP configuration ^[3].

bash

uv tool install --python 3.13 "headroom-ai[all]"
headroom wrap claude

Use another terminal to check the installation and routing with the documented health check ^[3].

bash

headroom doctor

Launch future sessions with headroom wrap claude when you want them routed through Headroom ^[3].

Try the Context Mode plugin

Context Mode's README describes running tools in a sandbox and keeping large results outside the conversation until needed. Install its Claude Code plugin by entering these commands inside Claude ^[4].

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/plugin marketplace add mksglu/context-mode
/plugin install context-mode@context-mode

Restart Claude Code, then run the plugin's diagnostic command ^[4].

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/context-mode:ctx-doctor

You should see its checks marked [x], per the README. After using the plugin, inspect its context statistics ^[4].

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/context-mode:ctx-stats

You now have the chosen tool's statistics to compare with Claude Code's session usage. Repeat a comparable task and check the answer's correctness before deciding to keep that setup.