usage-audit

Usage Audit

Bloated context costs more and produces worse output. This skill finds the waste and tells you what to cut.

Step 1: Get /context Data

Check the conversation history for /context output. If the user already ran /context in this session, use that data. If not, ask:

"Run /context in this session terminal and let me know when you're done. I can't run slash commands myself, but once I can see the breakdown I'll audit everything it flags."

STOP HERE. Do NOT proceed to Step 2 until the user has ran /context. The context breakdown determines what to audit and in what order. Without it, the audit is guessing. Output the message above and wait for the user's next message.

Step 2: Audit What's Bloated

Based on the /context output, audit each category from largest to smallest. Run checks in parallel where possible.

MCP Servers

Each server loads full tool definitions into context every turn (~15,000-20,000 tokens each).

• Count configured servers from settings.json
• Flag any with CLI alternatives (Playwright, Google Workspace, GitHub all have CLIs that cost zero tokens when idle)
• Report total MCP overhead from /context output

CLAUDE.md

Read all CLAUDE.md files (project root, .claude/, ~/.claude/). Count lines. Then read every rule and test against five filters:

Filter	Flag when...
Default	Claude already does this without being told ("write clean code", "handle errors")
Contradiction	Conflicts with another rule in same or different file
Redundancy	Repeats something already covered elsewhere
Bandaid	Added to fix one bad output, not improve outputs generally
Vague	Interpreted differently every time ("be natural", "use good tone")

If total CLAUDE.md lines > 200, check for progressive disclosure opportunities: rules that only apply to specific tasks (API conventions, deployment steps, testing guidelines) should move to reference files with one-line pointers. Only recommend splitting when the file is actually bloated -- a lean CLAUDE.md with universal context is fine as a single file.

Skills

Scan .claude/skills/*/SKILL.md. For each skill:

• Count lines (flag > 200, critical > 500)
• Run the same five filters on instructions
• Check for restated goals, hedging ("you may want to"), synonymous instructions ("be concise" + "keep it short" + "don't be verbose")

Settings

Check settings.json for:

Setting	Flag if	Recommended
autocompact_percentage_override	Missing or > 80	75
BASH_MAX_OUTPUT_LENGTH (env)	At default (30-50K)	150000

File Permissions

Check settings.json for permissions.deny rules. If missing, check whether bloat directories exist in the project:

If this exists...	Should deny...
package.json	node_modules, dist, build, .next, coverage
Cargo.toml	target
go.mod	vendor
pyproject.toml / requirements.txt	pycache, .venv, *.egg-info

Step 3: Score and Report

Score starts at 100. Deduct per issue:

Issue	Points
CLAUDE.md > 200 lines	-10
CLAUDE.md > 500 lines	-20
Per 5 rules flagged by filters	-5
Contradictions between files	-10
Missing autocompact override	-10
Missing bash output override	-5
Skill > 200 lines	-5 each
Skill > 500 lines	-10 each
Per MCP server	-3 each
No deny rules + bloat dirs exist	-10

Floor at 0. Output this format:

# Usage Audit

Score: {N}/100 [{CLEAN|NEEDS WORK|BLOATED|CRITICAL}]

## Context Breakdown (from /context)
{Paste the key numbers from /context output}

## Issues Found

### [{CRITICAL|WARNING|INFO}] {Category}
{What's wrong}
Fix: {One-line actionable fix}

### Rules to Cut
{Each flagged rule: the text, which filter, one-line reason}

### Conflicts
{Contradictions between files, with paths}

## Top 3 Fixes
1. {Highest-impact fix}
2. {Second}
3. {Third}

Score labels: 90-100 CLEAN, 70-89 NEEDS WORK, 50-69 BLOATED, 0-49 CRITICAL. Severity: CRITICAL > 10pts, WARNING 5-10pts, INFO < 5pts.

Step 4: Offer to Fix

After the report:

"Want me to fix any of these? I can:

• Show you a cleaned-up CLAUDE.md with the flagged rules removed
• Add the missing settings.json configs
• Add permissions.deny rules for build artifacts
• Show which skills to compress"

Auto-apply settings.json and permissions.deny (safe, reversible). Show diffs for CLAUDE.md and skills -- let the user confirm before modifying instruction files.