token — a Claude Code skill that stops re-reading your whole project

token gives Claude Code a code map of your project and a rule to ask the map first, so it stops grepping and reading file after file every time you ask "where does X happen?".

The map is built locally by graphify from the AST (tree-sitter, 30 languages). No LLM calls, no API key, nothing leaves your machine. Building a map takes seconds.

/token

map: 63 nodes · 176 edges · 8 communities · graph.json 48 KB
tokens: GRAPH_REPORT.md ≈ 651 · raw source ≈ 21551 · query output typically 0.5–4k
freshness: up to date
CLAUDE.md: token rule written → ./CLAUDE.md

Why

On a code-navigation question, Claude usually explores: grep, open a file, open three more, repeat. On a mid-sized project that can easily be 100k+ tokens of raw source before it answers. A graph query returns the relevant symbols, files and line numbers in a few hundred to a few thousand tokens, and Claude then opens only those lines.

Measured example (one "how does this flow work" question on a real project): ~169k tokens of exploration → ~2.9k tokens with the map.

Savings depend on the task. They are large for "where / what calls this / how does the flow go" questions and small for a one-line fix in a file you already have open.

What it does

Running /token in a project:

1. Installs graphify if it's missing: uv tool install, then pipx, then a private venv in ~/.local/share/token-skill/venv. No sudo.
2. Builds or updates the map in graphify-out/ (AST only). Files with a code extension but an XML body (Tiled tilesets etc.) are added to .graphifyignore first, because they break parsing.
3. Writes a rule to the project's CLAUDE.md, in a marked, idempotent block: for code questions, run graphify query before the first grep/read, never cat the whole graph.json, and update the map after changing code.
4. Reports real numbers: nodes/edges, the token size of the report vs. the raw source, and whether the map is stale.

Optional --strict mode installs a Claude Code PreToolUse hook that blocks the first raw file read in a session until a graph query has run.

Install

Requirements: macOS, Linux or Windows (Git Bash or WSL), bash, Python 3.10+, internet for the first install.

git clone https://github.com/WebitroHQ/token-skill.git
bash token-skill/token/scripts/install.sh

The install copies the skill to ~/.claude/skills/token/ and sets up graphify. The last line should be ready: type /token in Claude Code. Then restart Claude Code, because skills load at session start.

Check:

~/.local/bin/graphify --version && ls ~/.claude/skills/token/SKILL.md ~/.claude/skills/graphify/SKILL.md

If graphify is not found, add export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH" to your shell profile.

Usage

In Claude Code, inside a project:

You say	What happens
/token	install/verify, build or update the map, write the CLAUDE.md rule, report
/token from scratch	full rebuild (--force)
/token strict	also install the blocking hook

After that you just ask code questions as usual; the CLAUDE.md rule makes Claude query the map first.

The script also works on its own:

T=~/.claude/skills/token/scripts/token.sh
bash $T status  [path]            # exists? fresh? token summary   (exit 2 = no map, 4 = stale)
bash $T build   [path] [--force]  # build/update the map
bash $T query   "how is auth checked" [path]
bash $T install-project [path] [--strict]

What it writes

• ~/.claude/skills/token/: this skill
• ~/.claude/skills/graphify/ and a 4-line # graphify block at the end of ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md (added by graphify's own installer)
• ~/.local/bin/graphify (+ graphify-mcp), and ~/.local/share/token-skill/venv if the venv route was used
• Per project: graphify-out/ (commit it or add it to .gitignore), .graphifyignore, and the marked block in CLAUDE.md

Limits

• Code only. Docs, PDFs and images need an LLM to map; this skill doesn't run one.
• Some files yield no symbols (plain PHP scripts, config files like vite.config.ts). graphify warns about them, and they still need a raw read.
• The map goes stale when code changes. token.sh query checks this before every query and updates the map first if any code file is newer (seconds on small projects). Tested: rename a function and move its caller to a new file without rebuilding. Before the fix, graphify query answered confidently with the old name and old file:line. With the check, the answer comes back with the new name and correct locations. Calling graphify query directly skips this check.
• Windows needs Git Bash or WSL; native PowerShell isn't supported.

Uninstall

rm -rf ~/.claude/skills/token ~/.local/share/token-skill
uv tool uninstall graphifyy   # or: pipx uninstall graphifyy

Then remove the # >>> token-skill block from any project CLAUDE.md and delete graphify-out/.

Credits

The map itself is graphify (Apache-2.0). This repo is a thin, deterministic wrapper around it for Claude Code, made by Webitro.

Made by Webitro

Webitro is a custom software studio. We build AI agents, chatbots, automation and e-commerce systems, and we design custom skills and command sets for teams using Claude Code. If you want a skill tailored to your own workflow, get in touch.

License

MIT