Frequently asked questions
What Lineman is, how it saves tokens, and how to get started.
- What is Lineman?
- Lineman is a plugin for Claude Code that offloads data-heavy work — large file reads, build and test log triage, web-search and grep output — to a fast secondary AI. Your primary model's context stays focused on reasoning, and teams typically save 40%+ tokens per session.
- How does Lineman save tokens?
- It intercepts the high-volume tool calls in your agent session (file reads, command output, search results) and returns a compact summary instead of the raw output. Your primary — more expensive — model reads far less, so the same task costs significantly fewer tokens.
- Does Lineman work with Claude Code?
- Yes. Lineman installs as a plugin in Claude Code and works with MCP-compatible AI coding agents. It runs alongside your normal workflow — there's no change to how you prompt.
- Will Lineman reduce my output quality?
- No. Lineman compresses the data your model reads, not its reasoning. The model still does the thinking; it just isn't forced to read megabytes of raw logs or files first. Our published benchmarks show output quality holds while token usage drops.
- How do I install Lineman?
- Add the Lineman plugin to Claude Code from the plugin marketplace and sign in. The Get Started guide walks through setup in a couple of minutes.
- Is my code safe?
- Code and prompts that pass through Lineman are not used to train any model, and all traffic is encrypted in transit. See the Security and Privacy pages for the full data-handling details.
- Who is Lineman for?
- Individual developers and engineering teams using Claude Code who want to cut token spend without losing output quality.
Still have a question? Contact us.