25 Claude Rules to Stop Hitting Your Token Limits

Claude plans run on a rolling five-hour usage window, and paid plans add weekly limits on top. Each message re-reads your entire conversation, files, tools, and instructions, so context size matters more than how long your question is.

Long, messy chats burn through limits far more than hard questions do.

• 1 · Open a new chat for each new topic
• 2 · Request a short summary before you switch, and paste only that summary into the new chat
• 3 · Edit and resend your message instead of tacking on corrections
• 4 · Bundle related questions into one message
• 5 · Avoid keeping one chat going for days

• 6 · Give context once, and give it clearly
• 7 · Set the length you need, such as “in five bullets”
• 8 · Add “no preamble” when you just want the answer
• 9 · Request only the changes, not the full document again

• 10 · Share only the pages or sections that matter
• 11 · Turn large PDFs into text whenever you can
• 12 · Keep reused files in a Project rather than uploading them again
• 13 · Clear old or duplicate files out of Projects

• 14 · Pick Haiku 5.5 or Sonnet 5.5 for simple tasks
• 15 · Reserve Opus and Fable for hard problems
• 16 · Drop the effort level for routine work
• 17 · Save max effort for the very hardest problems

• 18 · Switch off connectors and web search when a task does not need them
• 19 · Uninstall plugins and MCP servers you never use
• 20 · Request a plan before long agent tasks so they stay on track

• 21 · Run /clear between tasks
• 22 · Run /compact during long sessions
• 23 · Keep CLAUDE.md lean
• 24 · Point Claude at exact files with @ rather than asking it to explore
• 25 · Hand searching and reading to subagents on smaller models

• Check usage in Claude’s settings
• Try a context meter mod in Claude Code, such as Anthropic’s Token Weather sample
• Find the tasks that use the most, and change those habits first

• Turn on prompt caching for long, repeated instructions
• Send work that can wait through the Batch API, at lower prices
• Cap the maximum output length
• Track your spend in the Claude Console

• Wait for the five-hour window to reset
• Move to a smaller model if it still has room
• Buy extra usage on a paid plan if you need it right away
• Upgrade only if you hit limits every single week