Coding agents · Updated 2026-10-09
Reduce coding agent token usage
Coding agents spend most of their tokens rereading tool output: file reads, shell logs, search hits and MCP results. Pick your agent below for where its tokens go, the habits that help, and what supercompress setup adds to it.
npm install -g supercompress-proxy && supercompress setup, then supercompress doctor. The full harness list is in the coding agents guide.
By coding agent
| Agent | What setup adds |
|---|---|
| Claude Code | MCP server, CLAUDE.md instructions and hooks, or the Claude Code plugin. |
| Cursor | MCP server, an always-on rule and hooks. |
| Codex | MCP server, AGENTS.md instructions and hooks. Works with a ChatGPT sign-in. |
| Hermes Agent | MCP server, shell hooks, a plugin and Hermes compression settings. |
| Windsurf | MCP server for Cascade. |
| Gemini CLI | MCP server in settings.json. |
| Cline, Roo Code and Kilo Code | MCP server in each extension's settings. |
| OpenCode | MCP server and AGENTS.md instructions. |
Setup also detects Zed, Goose, Continue, Amp, Crush, GitHub Copilot in VS Code, Claude Desktop, Grok Build, OpenClaw and more. Run supercompress doctor to see what it found on your machine.
Guides
- Context compression for coding agents: approaches compared
- MCP token reduction
- MCP tool output compression
- Claude Code context limit
- Claude Code MCP output too large
- SuperCompress FAQ
How SuperCompress works
SuperCompress is hosted, extractive and query-aware. Your agent sends a large block of context (a log, a diff, a file read, an MCP result) together with the question it is working on. Our Neural Keep model scores the lines against that question, keeps the original lines that answer it, and drops the rest. It never rewrites or summarizes, so file paths, error messages, IDs and code come back exactly as they were. The question itself is never compressed.
Every compress call reports original_tokens and kept_tokens, so you can see what was dropped on your own work instead of trusting a headline number. The usage_summary MCP tool shows totals per agent for your account.
Install
npm install -g supercompress-proxy && supercompress setupSetup links your SuperCompress account in the browser, detects the coding agents on the machine and wires each one. Restart the agent so it loads the new MCP server. Then check what is wired up:
supercompress doctordoctor prints a per-agent health check. supercompress uninstall removes only the entries SuperCompress added. Setup backs up each config file before it edits it.
FAQ
Which coding agents does SuperCompress support?
Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Hermes Agent, Windsurf, Gemini CLI, Cline, Roo Code, Kilo Code, OpenCode, Zed, Goose, Continue and more. supercompress setup detects them and supercompress doctor lists what it found.
Do I need to install SuperCompress separately for each agent?
No. One supercompress setup wires every detected agent. Run supercompress plugin after you install a new agent.