Claude Code burns 23207 tokens on its first request in an empty dir
10/03/2026 — 10/03, 11:12·1 sources·1 reports
Story overview
On October 3, 2026, a DEV Community post measured what Claude Code spends on its very first request inside an empty directory. The test ran version 2.1.285 with the command `claude -p "Reply with just OK."`, a prompt asking for a single word. By default, that first request consumed 23,207 input tokens.
Adding two flags, `--strict-mcp-config` and `--tools ""`, brought the same request down to 2,664 input tokens.
The post also tried one flag on its own. Passing only `--disallowedTools "Skill"` shrank the request by just 913 tokens. The reason given is that the Workflow tool's description inlines a reference it would normally load from a skill, and that description grew from 3,480 to 20,256 characters. The writeup adds that 18,962 characters of skill listing left Claude Code's first request once `--disallowedTools "Skill"` was passed.
The report stops at these measurements: on 2.1.285, in an empty directory, `claude -p "Reply with just OK."` costs 23,207 input tokens by default, and 2,664 input tokens with `--strict-mcp-config` plus `--tools ""`. No other figures or statements about the request's composition are included.
AI-generated from 1 reports · updated 1 hour ago
Latest turnIn an empty directory, the first request from claude -p "Reply with just OK." measured 23,207 input tokens by default on version 2.1.285, dropping to 2,664 with --strict-mcp-config --tools "". Passing --disallowedTools "Skill" cut 18,962 characters of skill listing yet saved only 913 tokens, because the Workflow tool's description inlined the reference it normally loads from a skill, growing from 3,480 to 20,256 characters.
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In an empty directory, the first request from claude -p "Reply with just OK." measured 23,207 input tokens by default on version 2.1.285, dropping to 2,664 with --strict-mcp-config --tools "". Passing --disallowedTools "Skill" cut 18,962 characters of skill listing yet saved only 913 tokens, because the Workflow tool's description inlined the reference it normally loads from a skill, growing from 3,480 to 20,256 characters.
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