It's easy to lose track of how much a long session is consuming. The /usage command gives you a clear read so there are no surprises.
Running it
Type it any time during a session:
/usage
It's also available as /cost — the same command under a different name, so use whichever sticks in your head. It shows you your current usage picture without stopping your work or clearing anything.
Why check it
A few good moments to glance at it:
- Before a big task, to know where you stand.
- During a long session, when you've been going for a while and want a gut check.
- After heavy work, to see what an approach actually cost so you can plan the next one better.
Pairing it with other habits
Usage ties closely to how you manage context. A conversation that's grown huge does more work per reply, so keeping it lean with /clear and /compact helps here too. If you check /usage and it looks high, that's often a nudge to clear between tasks or compact a sprawling session.
Model choice matters as well. If you're running heavy work on the strongest model out of habit, /usage can be the signal to drop to a lighter one with /model for the parts that don't need the extra power. Think of /usage as your dashboard: quick to check, and a useful prompt to tidy up your session before things run away from you.
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