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Claude Code test shows 'keep-coding-instructions' preserves 1,044 tokens

By PulseAugur Editorial · [1 sources] ·

A recent test of Claude Code's 'keep-coding-instructions' feature revealed that setting it to true preserves 1,044 tokens of software engineering instructions within the system prompt. When this setting was false, these instructions were omitted, though the impact on coding behavior for a simple bug fix was minimal, with 18 out of 18 attempts yielding the same edit. The study used Claude Code 2.1.289 with the Opus 5.5 model on macOS to analyze the differences in API requests generated by custom output styles. AI

IMPACT This analysis provides insight into how specific LLM instructions affect prompt token usage and coding behavior in a specialized tool.

RANK_REASON The item details a specific feature and its observed behavior within a software product, rather than a new release or significant industry event.

Read on dev.to — Claude Code tag →

AI-generated summary · Google Gemini · from 1 sources. How we write summaries →

Claude Code test shows 'keep-coding-instructions' preserves 1,044 tokens

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  1. dev.to — Claude Code tag TIER_1 English(EN) · Rulestack ·

    Claude Code's keep-coding-instructions kept 1,044 tokens in the full prompt, 0 in the short one, and 18 of 18 fixes matched

    <blockquote> <p>On Claude Code 2.1.289 with Opus 5.5, <code>keep-coding-instructions: true</code> decided whether a 1,044-token <code># Doing tasks</code> section stayed in the system prompt, but only when Claude Code sent its full prompt; in the shorter prompt this account got b…

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