Shadowing Practice: Claude Code Is Wasting Tokens... Microsoft Built a Fix - Learn English Speaking with Video

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It seems there's a lot of heat with tools and extensions that claim to reduce token usage.

Many of these have been put to the test and they work well.

Now Microsoft just released their own, a free plugin that cut AI coding agent costs by 18 to 31 % in their tests.

And they didn't use a cheaper model or a different agent either.

It works with all the big names, so it's a win for us.

it's called token economizer

and it solves a problem you've probably seen yourself

you ask claude code to fix something fix this it tries a command gets an error

and then keeps running

and burning tokens up to find us a fix token economizer learns from those sessions it remembers how your repo works, removes tools you don't use,

and steps in when the agent keeps making the same mistake.

And the more you use it in the same project, the more tokens you actually save.

So let's install it and see what it actually does.

If you enjoy coding tools the speed of your workflow, be sure to subscribe.

We have videos coming out all the time.

Now I'm going to use

Cloud Code for this, but remember

Token Economizer also supports all the other big names.

First, I'll clone it and install the plugin right here.

We're going to run our git clone.

We're going to install the git plugin from the marketplace and make sure everything is ready to go.

That's installed all super straightforward.

Just keep the clone folder because the plugin runs from there.

Now I'll open one of my existing projects and we're going to fire up Claude Code.

Let's check the status.

All we need to do to check the status here is I'm going to run token economizer status.

This shows what the plugin has learned.

It shows what it's doing and the costs it has already tracked.

Now, quick note here, micro skills are turned off by default.

So I'm going to enable those and we'll circle back.

Then I'll refresh the tool catalog.

I'm going to run here a tool prune, refresh catalog.

Now I'll give Claude Code some tasks.

Let's start super simple.

I'm going to give Claude Code a task, build a unit test.

Very straightforward.

Run it.

Now notice I'm not changing how I use Claude code.

It's the same thing, just on Opus 5 .5, with all the prompts I would normally fire straight at it.

TokenEconomizer just works alongside it.

Now, in a repo where it's already watched several sessions, we can check what it's learned so far.

So here we are.

I'm going to run Microskills.

You can check.

You can run ToolPrune.

Here we can see any repo -specific info it's learned.

In tools, it's identified as unused.

If you install it for the first time, these might be empty.

It needs a few sessions to actually learn what the hell is going on.

And all of that info stays on your machine inside the token economizer folder.

There are really three parts to this.

Now, first up to the plate is called micro skills.

Say you're working on a project that needs a specific command to run its tests.

Claude code, it doesn't know that.

So it tries the usual command, gets an error, try something else and yeah, okay, it eventually gets it.

Great.

Except later when you start a new session, it might make the exact same mistake.

So there we are paying extra tokens, which I would rather not do.

Token Economizer looks at a previous session, all of them, and learns small details about the repo.

Things like which test commands actually work, which environment variables are needed, and where certain files live.

Once something has been confirmed enough times, it can give us that information to the agents at the start of a new session.

So instead of wasting tokens over and over again, the agent already has the answer.

Now next up to the plate is tool pruning.

When you start a coding agent, it can load a bunch of tools into its context, and those tool definitions use tokens,

even if the agent never touches them.

Token Economizer tracks which tools actually get used in your repo.

If a tool consistently goes unused, used, it can stop loading it in a feature session.

And if you need it again, you can just restore it.

Then finally, we go to something called a failure loop intervention.

You've probably watched an agent run a command, get an error, change one small thing and run almost the exact same command again.

Sometimes it just keeps repeating that process.

Token Economizer watches for these patterns.

When it thinks the agent might be stuck, it uses a judge model to check what's happening.

If it detects this loop, it sends the agent a short instruction to try a different approach.

And if the agent still can't recover, it tells you how to stop the turn.

It doesn't just freak out and stop, but does it actually save enough money to even matter?

That's sort of the question.

Yes, it appears to do pretty much that.

Microsoft in UC Berkeley tested

Token Economizer on...

277 SWE benched tasks across six repos using five different agent and model combinations.

And the average cost dropped between 18 .4 % and about 31%.

So the results were pretty good.

In four of the five combinations, tasks' success actually improved.

One saw a small decline, but across all 30 repository and agent model combinations, Token Economizer was cheaper than running without it.

And they even included the plugin's own model calls in those.

Token Economizer isn't completely free to run.

Some of its features use additional model calls.

So those reported savings already accounted for the overhead.

It is open source.

It works with the same agents we already use, and the info it learns stays local.

But I wouldn't expect all of us to see the same results.

Its first public release was in October of this year, and the biggest savings come from working in the same repositories over multiple sessions.

If you're constantly jumping between unrelated projects, there's much less to actually learn from it, or for it, I should say.

If your agent is doing something completely new, there might not be much repeated work to eliminate at all.

So ask yourself, based on the work you do, will this actually be useful?

If you use agents every day on one or a couple core projects, then yeah, this should help.

If you're working on the same repo over and over with Claude Code, Codex, yes, this is going to help.

But if you're building a ton of different projects or you're just playing around, this is not really going to change anything.

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It's probably not even worth it.

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So here's what I'd do.

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Install Token Economizer on the repo you use the most.

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Run it for a week, then check the status reports like I showed us and compare the costs of similar tasks.

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If the agent is actually using fewer tokens and whether it's still completing your tasks properly, awesome.

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It is working.

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One thing to remember, each agent learns separately.

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So whatever cloud code learns doesn't automatically carry over to Codex.

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And don't judge it entirely on the first session.

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That's why I say run it for a week.

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The whole point is that it learns from repeated use.

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If it's saving you money without getting in your way, keep it.

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If not, you've got the answer.

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So what it really does is takes a different approach to

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reducing AI coding costs instead of making the model smaller or compressing your prompts.

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It looks at the work your agent keeps wasting tokens on.

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It remembers useful details about your repo, stops loading unused tools, and helps agents recover when it gets stuck.

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I'm Josh from BetterStack.

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If you enjoy coding tips and tricks like this, be sure to subscribe.

119

We'll see you in another video.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “Claude Code Is Wasting Tokens... Microsoft Built a Fix”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: token, agent, economizer, tool, repo. This video has 119 sentences and 1344 words to shadow. The speech runs for 7:29. The speaker talks fast, about 180 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 82% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
token noun	/ˈtoʊkən/	Something serving as an expression of something else.
install verb	/ɪnˈstɔl/	To connect, set up or prepare something for use
combinations noun	/kɑmbɪˈneɪʃənz/	A one-piece form of underwear, being a combination of a vest or chemise and underpants.
clone noun	/kloʊn/	A living organism (originally a plant) produced asexually from a single ancestor, to which it is genetically identical.
unused adjective	/ʌnˈjuzd/	Not used.
cloud noun	/ˈklaʊ̯d/	A visible mass of water droplets suspended in the air.
skill noun	/skɪl/	A capacity to do something well; a technique, an ability, usually acquired or learned, as opposed to abilities that are regarded as innate.
loop noun	/luːp/	A length of thread, line or rope that is doubled over to make an opening.
recover verb	/ɹɪˈkʌvɚ/	To get back, to regain (a physical thing; in astronomy and navigation, sight of a thing or a signal).
micro adjective	/ˈmaɪ.kɹoʊ/	Very small in scale or scope.
subscribe verb	/səbˈskɹaɪb/	To write (one’s name) at the bottom of a document; to sign (one's name).
catalogue noun	/ˈkæt.əˌlɔɡ/	A systematic list of books, names, pictures, etc.
prompt verb	/pɹɑmpt/	To lead (someone) toward what they should say or do.
straightforward adjective	/ˌstɹeɪtˈfɔː(ɹ)wə(ɹ)d/	Proceeding in a straight course or manner; not deviating.
folder noun	/ˈfoʊldɚ/	An organizer that papers are kept in, usually with an index tab, to be stored as a single unit in a filing cabinet.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
come out verb	/ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/	To be discovered; to be revealed.
play around verb		To behave in a silly, childish, or irresponsible way.
turn off verb		To power down, to switch off, to put out of operation, to deactivate (an appliance, light, mechanism, functionality etc.).

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

We're going to run our git clone.
Then I'll refresh the tool catalog.
That's why I say run it for a week.
If not, you've got the answer.
We'll see you in another video.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	have been put · you've probably seen · has learned
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	have been put · are turned · is called

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 35 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, you're, I'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: combinations /kɑmbɪˈneɪʃənz/, refresh /ɹɪˈfɹɛʃ/, extension /ɪkˈstɛnʃən/, intervention /ɪntɚˈvɛnʃən/, instruction /ɪnˈstɹʌkʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: combinations /kɑmbɪˈneɪʃənz/, intervention /ɪntɚˈvɛnʃən/, consistently /kənˈsɪstəntli/, eliminate /ɪˈlɪm.ɪ.neɪt/, repository /ɹɪˈpɒz.ɪ.t(ə.)ɹɪ/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like token, install, combinations.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: Claude Code Is Wasting Tokens... Microsoft Built a Fix - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?