Open-source token ledger for Codex, Claude Code, Cursor, and Goose. 40 MCP tools, Codex skills, 34 slash commands, MIT-licensed, opt-in telemetry.

ashlr is the open-source token ledger for AI coding tools. It gives Codex and Claude Code lower-token alternatives for file reads, grep, edits, shell output, and genome retrieval, then tracks what those tools save.

Mean cross-repo savings: −57% (TypeScript −62%, Python −65%, Rust −44% — measured on vercel/ai, pandas, and tokio). Large-file ashlr__read calls still see the biggest savings. Reproduce with /ashlr-benchmark. (methodology)

MIT-licensed. Telemetry is off by default and explicit opt-in only. Codex gets a first-class plugin manifest, MCP config, workflow skills, and nudge-first hooks. Claude Code gets the richer slash-command/status-line surface. Cursor and Goose register the same MCP router.

Install in 30 seconds

Codex:

git clone https://github.com/ashlrai/ashlr-plugin
cd ashlr-plugin && bun install
codex plugin marketplace add ashlrai/ashlr-plugin
codex plugin add ashlr@ashlr-marketplace
bun run scripts/cli.ts codex-doctor --json

Claude Code:

curl -fsSL https://plugin.ashlr.ai/install.sh | bash

Then install from the Claude Code marketplace and run /reload-plugins. See Install for exact Codex, Claude Code, Cursor, and Goose variants, plus how to verify the plugin is active.

Documentation map

Start here


What is ashlr?	The three-line pitch and what's included.
Install	Codex, Claude Code, Cursor, Goose.
Quickstart	Run your first compacted read in 60 seconds.
Permissions	Hook modes, redirect vs nudge, opt-outs.

MCP tools (40)

The drop-in replacements that do the actual token-saving. See the tools index for the full catalog.


`ashlr__read`	snipCompact head + tail; middle elided.
`ashlr__grep`	Genome-RAG-backed search. ~84 % savings on warm queries.
`ashlr__edit`	Diff-only edits. Full file never re-sent.
`ashlr__bash`	Auto-summarized stdout for verbose commands.
`ashlr__sql` · `ashlr__http` · `ashlr__diff` · `ashlr__logs` · `ashlr__pr`	Plus 30+ more.

See the capabilities matrix for the full machine-readable tool reference.

Commands + Skills

Codex ships workflow skills for doctor checks, compact read/search habits, genome refresh, savings review, and parallel exploration. Claude Code ships 34 slash commands; type /ashlr- to discover them. See skills for the full list of dashboards, demos, and diagnostics.

Concepts


Genome	The on-disk knowledge graph that powers grep RAG.
snipCompact	How head+tail trimming preserves recall while cutting tokens.
Env vars	All `ASHLR_*` environment variables with defaults.
Status line	What every glyph in the live ledger means.
Savings math	How `tokensSaved` is computed and why every value is reproducible.

Pro / Team


Pricing	Free / Pro / Team feature matrix.
Cloud genome	E2E-encrypted shared knowledge across machines and teammates.
Hosted summarization	Server-side LLM compaction for very large reads.
Pricing	Free / Pro / Team feature matrix.

Contributing

ashlr is MIT-licensed and lives at github.com/ashlrai/ashlr-plugin. PRs welcome — read the contributing guide first.

Have feedback on the docs? Open an issue on GitHub — every page has an "Edit on GitHub" link in the corner.

ashlr docs