Tokens are dollars, context pressure, and cache-miss penalties. Here's a four-layer strategy I use to cut AI coding agent token usage by 75% or more across Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Cursor, and Aider.
AI Coding CLI Workflow: From Prompt Chaos to Engineering Rigor
AI CLIs like Claude Code, Gemini CLI, and Cursor accelerate delivery, but they default to happy-path code. Here's the workflow I use to wrap them in production-grade engineering discipline.