Team Reference · Claude API

Reducing API consumption
as a team

Practical tips to stretch your credits further — for a team of three.

01

Use a Cheaper Model by Default

Claude Haiku is significantly cheaper than Sonnet or Opus. Set it as your default for everyday tasks, and only switch to Sonnet/Opus when the task genuinely needs more power.

Add this to your ~/.zshrc or ~/.bash_profile:

export ANTHROPIC_MODEL="claude-haiku-4-5-20251001"

Rule of thumb: use Haiku for reading, explaining, and simple edits. Use Sonnet for complex multi-file tasks or architecture decisions.

02

Set a Monthly Spend Limit

Go to console.anthropic.com → Billing → Usage Limits. Set a hard monthly cap so no one accidentally burns through credits.

Also enable email alerts at 50% and 80% of your budget — you'll get a warning before you hit the ceiling.

03

Create a CLAUDE.md File in Your Project

Without this, Claude re-explores your codebase at the start of every session. A CLAUDE.md file gives it instant context, saving tokens each time.

Create it in your project root:

touch CLAUDE.md

Then add things like:

# Project: [Your App Name]
# Stack: Node.js, React, PostgreSQL
# Entry point: src/index.js
# Key folders: src/components, src/api, src/utils
# Coding style: Use async/await, avoid callbacks
04

Add a .claudeignore File

This tells Claude to ignore large, irrelevant folders. It keeps the context window lean and speeds up every request.

touch .claudeignore

Paste this inside:

# Dependencies
node_modules/
.venv/

# Build outputs
dist/
build/
.next/

# Version control & lock files
.git/
*.lock
package-lock.json

# Logs & temp files
*.log
tmp/
05

Team Habits That Save Credits

Be specific with prompts Vague questions cause Claude to ask clarifying questions, using extra tokens. State what you want clearly in one message.
Use /clear between tasks Run /clear in the terminal when switching to an unrelated task. This resets the context so Claude isn't carrying unnecessary conversation history.
Don't ask Claude to repeat itself Avoid prompts like "summarize what you just did." If you need to save output, copy it before moving on.
Share one API key with a spend cap One key is easier to monitor than three. Set the cap in the console, and check usage weekly at console.anthropic.com → Usage.
Close sessions when done Long idle sessions with large context windows still count against you when resumed. Start fresh for new topics.
06

Monitor Usage Regularly

Check console.anthropic.com → Usage at least once a week. You can see token usage broken down by day, which makes it easy to spot if a particular session went overboard.

The biggest wins: .claudeignore (less context scanned), CLAUDE.md (no re-exploration), and model selection (Haiku vs Sonnet). Start there.