budget-mode

budget-mode is a command for Claude Code from Sagargupta16/claude-cost-optimizer. It costs 10 tokens per session (347 once invoked), scanned A, original, MIT.

A session-wide set of rules for keeping Claude Code's work brief, targeted, and cost-conscious.

In plain words
What is it for?
Use it when you want future work to favor targeted reads, single-pass edits, batched operations, and minimal confirmations.
Why use it?
It limits unnecessary exploration, long replies, repeated checks, and unrelated improvements.

Command for Claude Code

Written for Claude Code: shipped in a Claude Code plugin. Also seen: model in frontmatter.

Part of the claude-cost-optimizer plugin — 1 skill, 3 commands, 2 hooks shipped together

Good fit Use it when you want future work to favor targeted reads, single-pass edits, batched operations, and minimal confirmations.

Compare 6 commands from other repositories ↓
Install with agentmods
npx agentmods add commands/sagargupta16/claude-cost-optimizer/budget-mode
Install

Getting it into your agent

One page per mod, every tool's command on it. A separate URL per tool would split the same page into five that compete with each other.

Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Sagargupta16/claude-cost-optimizer

Made for: Claude Code.

Or install claude-cost-optimizer, the plugin that ships this one along with the rest of its 1 skill, 3 commands, 2 hooks.

Wrote this? Show the measurements

A badge with what this costs and how it scanned, read live from this page, so it follows the numbers instead of freezing them. Markdown for a README, HTML for a documentation site or a project page.

agentmods badge for budget-mode

README.md
[![agentmods](https://agentmods.dev/badge/commands/sagargupta16/claude-cost-optimizer/budget-mode/github.svg)](https://agentmods.dev/commands/sagargupta16/claude-cost-optimizer/budget-mode)
Your own site
<a href="https://agentmods.dev/commands/sagargupta16/claude-cost-optimizer/budget-mode"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/commands/sagargupta16/claude-cost-optimizer/budget-mode/github.svg" alt="Measured on agentmods" height="20"></a>

Or the 80×15 button, for a site that already has a row of RSS and ATOM ones. Only the verdict fits; the numbers stay here.

agentmods 80×15 button for budget-mode

Your own site · 80×15
<a href="https://agentmods.dev/commands/sagargupta16/claude-cost-optimizer/budget-mode"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/commands/sagargupta16/claude-cost-optimizer/budget-mode.svg" alt="Reviewed on agentmods" width="80" height="20"></a>
Per session 10 Only the description is in the session, so the agent can decide to use it. The body loads when it is invoked.
When invoked 347 The whole file, excluding the scripts and references it only reads on demand.
Security scan A 0 findings. A grade says what 26 rules found in the file — not that it is safe.
Origin original No closer match found in the catalogue.
Token cost

What it costs to keep this loaded

Counted locally with the o200k_base tokenizer, which is exact for GPT models; Claude uses its own tokenizer and its counts differ. Treat this as one consistent yardstick across the catalogue rather than a bill. Prices are per million input tokens.

ModelPer sessionOnce invoked
Fable 5.1 $0.00010 $0.00347
Opus 5 $0.00005 $0.00173
Sonnet 5 $0.00002 $0.00069
Haiku 4.5 $0.00001 $0.00035

Measured 9d ago against content hash 487e599f5095, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-09-09, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade A, and why

budget-mode scanned grade A with 0 findings against 26 rules in 11 categories — prompt injection, anti-refusal, data exfiltration, privilege escalation, supply chain, agent snooping, system-prompt leakage, SSRF and excessive agency — measured 9d ago.

A static scan of the body, not an audit. Every finding is printed with the line that produced it so you can judge whether it matters here. A mod is markdown that instructs an agent; that is exactly why what it instructs is worth reading.

Nothing flagged

None of the 26 patterns this scan looks for appear in this file: no shell pipes, no recursive deletes, no credential paths, no hidden text, no instruction-override or anti-refusal phrasing, no agent-config snooping. That is not a guarantee, it is the absence of the things that are checkable.

templates/commands/budget-mode.md · 37 lines

What it actually says

Budget Mode — Activated

For the remainder of this session, follow these strict cost-saving rules:

Rules (apply to every subsequent response)

  1. Minimal output: Respond in as few tokens as possible. No preambles, no summaries unless asked. Just do the task and confirm.

  2. No exploration: Do not read files or search the codebase unless directly needed for the current task. Ask the user for the file path instead of searching for it.

  3. Targeted reads: When you must read a file, use offset and limit to read only the relevant section. Never read a full file if you know the approximate location.

  4. Single-pass edits: Make edits in one pass. Do not read a file, explain what you will change, then edit. Just read and edit in the same turn.

  5. Batch operations: If given multiple tasks, handle them all in one response using parallel tool calls where possible.

  6. No redundant confirmation: After an edit, do not re-read the file to "verify" unless the user asks. Trust the edit tool.

  7. Concise answers: If asked a question, answer directly. No "Great question!" or "Let me help you with that." Just answer.

  8. Skip explanations: Do not explain what you did unless asked. A brief one-line confirmation is sufficient.

Confirmation

Respond with exactly:

Budget mode ON. Responses will be minimal and cost-efficient.

Then wait for the next task. Do not add anything else.

Changes

What this file has done since we first saw it

Hashed on every crawl. A supply-chain change to an agent config is a question of when, not whether, so the history is kept rather than the latest state alone.

  1. 9d ago First seen · 37 lines · 10 tokens per session scan A 487e599f5095

Subscribe to this mod's changes

budget-mode is a command published in the GitHub repository Sagargupta16/claude-cost-optimizer (35 stars, last pushed 3d ago), licensed MIT. It adds 10 tokens to every session and 347 once invoked, about $0.0001 per session on Opus 5. A static security scan graded it A with 0 findings. No closer match exists in the catalogue, so it is treated as the original; first seen 2026-08-30.