[BUG] Excessive token usage (~20k–30k tokens) for trivial prompts in Claude Code CLI

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Excessive token usage for trivial prompts in Claude Code CLI.

In a completely clean environment (empty folder, no repository, no CLAUDE.md), very simple prompts are consuming tens of thousands of tokens.

<img width="1108" height="501" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/1058578f-3dea-4bb5-a7a5-879d7ef82d12" />
<img width="1101" height="701" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/1a49bafc-6a56-414d-824a-5c78d8fefba5" />

Examples:

• Prompt: "hi" → ~31,000 tokens
• Prompt: "what colour is the sky?" → ~19,000 tokens

This occurs consistently even in a fresh session using:

• claude --verbose
• different models (sonnet-4.6, haiku-4.5)
• different effort levels (low/medium)

Expected behavior:
Simple prompts should use ~50–200 tokens.

Actual behavior:
There appears to be a large fixed token overhead (~20k–30k tokens) per request, even with no files or tools involved.

Impact:
This significantly increases cost and makes the CLI impractical for lightweight usage.

Additional notes:

• Issue reproducible in empty directory (C:\claude-clean)
• No repo, no agents, no commands executed
• ccusage shows very high cache read tokens for these simple prompts

This suggests excessive system prompt/context injection or a context/caching issue where tokens are not being trimmed properly.

What Should Happen?

For trivial prompts (e.g. "hi" or "what colour is the sky?"), Claude Code should use a minimal number of tokens (~50–200).

There should not be a large fixed baseline token overhead per request in a clean environment with no files, tools, or context.

Token usage should scale with the size and complexity of the prompt.

Error Messages/Logs

No explicit error messages.

Observed via:
- Claude Code verbose mode token display (~19k–31k tokens per trivial prompt)
- ccusage showing very high cache read tokens

Example:
Prompt: "hi"
Observed tokens: ~31,000

Steps to Reproduce

1. Create an empty folder (e.g. C:\claude-clean)
2. Open terminal and navigate to the folder
3. Run: claude --verbose
4. Enter: "hi"
5. Observe token usage in the top-right (~30k tokens)

Repeat with:

• "what colour is the sky?"
• different models (haiku, sonnet)
• different effort levels

Result is consistent across all tests.

Claude Model

Not sure / Multiple models

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

Earlier versions (and API/chat usage) showed ~50–200 tokens for trivial prompts. Exact CLI version unknown.

Claude Code Version

2.1.119 (Claude Code)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

PowerShell

Additional Information

• Issue occurs in completely empty directory with no repository or CLAUDE.md
• No tools or commands are executed during tests
• Token usage is consistently high (~20k–30k) regardless of prompt size
• ccusage shows extremely high cache read tokens for simple prompts
• Suggests large fixed system prompt or context not being trimmed properly

This makes Claude Code significantly more expensive for simple interactions compared to expected usage.