Claude Warden

claude-warden

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claude-warden(token guardian) is a hook system for [Claude Code][claude-code] that intercepts every tool call before and after execution. It silences verbose commands, compresses large outputs, blocks unsafe network calls, enforces subagent budgets, and surfaces a live statusline — saving tens of thousands of tokens per session with negligible added latency.

Quickstart

1. Install prerequisites: jq (required). Optional: rg, fd.
2. Install hooks into ~/.claude/ (symlink mode):

3. Choose a profile when prompted (or pass --profile standard).
4. Start a new Claude Code session. Hooks run automatically.

Run ./install.sh --dry-run first to preview every change before anything touches ~/.claude/.

What it does

claude-warden installs shell hooks that intercept every Claude Code tool call. Each hook enforces token-efficient patterns and blocks unsafe operations.

Guard catalog

Architecture

  Token savings pipeline — tool calls enter the hook membrane, get silenced/compressed/blocked, and exit with fewer tokens.

  Claude Code tool calls pass through the hook membrane (bash enforcement) into the warden-collector Go backbone, which stores spans in WAL-mode SQLite and enforces subagent budgets via sub-millisecond stat() checks.

Requirements

Install

Quick install (latest release)

Downloads a release tarball, verifies its SHA-256 checksum, validates contents, then runs install.sh --copy.

To pin a version:

Install from source (development)

Profiles

The installer applies a configuration profile that sets token limits, tool permissions, and internal thresholds. Choose one during install or pass --profile:

Profiles live in…