Claude Code may be burning your limits with invisible tokens

Article

• Claims Claude Code sends more tokens than visible context suggests, raising cost concerns
• Argues users can’t audit or see the full token usage behind the scenes
• Points to system prompts and hidden context as likely culprits

Discussion

• Methodologically criticized: bytes don’t correlate tightly with tokens, comparisons are invalid
• Counter-data: ccaudit tool showed 98% of token cost is cached context — not waste, by design
• Same issue reported simultaneously on Claude.ai, suggesting shared root cause
• Community wants system prompt exposed for full auditability

Discuss on HN