[FEATURE] Enforced word-count constraint toggle in the prompt input UI

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• [x] I have searched existing requests and this feature hasn't been requested yet
• [x] This is a single feature request (not multiple features)

Problem Statement

Opus is verbose by default. As a heavy daily user (Max 5x/20x, multiple hours every day since 4.6), I find ~95% of my prompts can be fully answered in 30 words or less. Yet without appending "30 words max" or "no commentary" to nearly every prompt, I receive a wall of text and have to re-prompt to condense it.

Nothing enforces brevity reliably: soft hook reminders about avoiding commentary, principles in CLAUDE.md, and memory.md files all fail. I still type the manual suffix every time. This breaks flow, and the time lost across a full working day is substantial.

Illustration: "how many screws hold down the motherboard on an Acer Nitro AN515-55" needs only "8" (or "~8, low confidence"). Try it and observe the excess — then apply that magnitude of excess to nearly every prompt.

Proposed Solution

A toggle adjacent to the text input box (Claude Code VS Code extension and claude.ai) that engages an enforced word-count constraint.

• On = constrained, off = normal.
• The limit is configurable via an options button (default e.g. 30 words).

One click preserves the ~5% of cases that genuinely need a longer answer, instead of manual suffixes on every prompt. A per-user, opt-in control also avoids the quality regressions a global brevity default has previously caused.

Alternative Solutions

Workarounds I currently use, all inadequate:

• Manual "30 words max" / "no commentary" suffix on nearly every prompt — tedious, easy to forget.
• CLAUDE.md brevity principles — not reliably obeyed.
• memory.md files — not reliably obeyed.
• Soft hook reminders about avoiding commentary — not reliably obeyed.

I have deliberately avoided a UserPromptSubmit hook that injects the suffix automatically, because it would break the ~5% of cases where a longer response is genuinely warranted. A toggle solves that: it is off by default and engaged only when I want it.

Priority

High - Significant impact on productivity

Feature Category

CLI commands and flags

Use Case Example

1. I ask a factual or mechanical question: "which flag disables telemetry in this CLI?"
2. Without the toggle: Claude returns several paragraphs re-explaining context before the answer.
3. With the toggle ON (30-word limit): Claude returns just the flag.
4. For the occasional case needing depth, I click the toggle OFF and ask normally, or ask "elaborate" as a follow-up.

Across a full working day of hundreds of prompts, this removes the need to type a suffix on nearly every message and eliminates re-prompting to condense.

Additional Context

• Environment: Claude Code VS Code extension + claude.ai (browser); Opus 4.8 (also 4.6, 4.7 previously); Max 5x / 20x subscription.
• A configurable numeric field (30/40/50/60/75 words) would cover the full range of my needs; 30 is my default for the overwhelming majority of prompts.