Opus, Sonnet, or opusplan? Answer 5 questions to find out
Five quick questions mirror the exact AND-gate a Claude Code coach hook would check before ever suggesting a downgrade. No silent switching - just a straight answer and why.
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Five conditions, all-or-nothing
Most "Opus vs Sonnet" advice is a vibe - someone's subjective "I tried both" take. This tool is a decision rule instead: it walks the same plan / scope / spec / safety / history checklist that decides whether a Sonnet subagent is actually safe to spin up, and answering "no" or "not sure" on any single one is enough to keep the whole task on Opus. That's on purpose - a wrong downgrade risks poisoning the rest of a session, so ambiguity always resolves to the safer, more expensive model.
The two downgrade destinations aren't interchangeable. See when Claude Code subagents actually save tokens for the delegation math behind the subagent route, or what plan mode actually costs for why opusplan's Opus-then-Sonnet split lines up cleanly with an approved plan. For the dollar gap between the two models on your own usage pattern, run the Opus vs Sonnet cost calculator.
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About the AND-gate
Is this the same thing a coach hook would actually check?
Yes - it's the exact AND-gate (plan, scope, spec, safety, history) from UsageCut's own model-router feasibility plan, the same checklist a non-intercepting coach hook would run on every turn. This wizard just runs it once, by hand, so you can see the logic before installing anything.
Why can't Claude Code just switch models automatically per turn?
No Claude Code hook can set the next turn's model - the complete hook-output schema (verified against v2.1.191) has no model field on any event. The only way to rewrite it transparently is intercepting the API call, and that would also lose money: cache reads are 94% of billed tokens, and switching models forces an uncached re-read that erases the savings - modeled honestly, per-turn routing comes out to -122%.
What's the actual difference between the subagent route and opusplan?
Both are cache-safe, no-proxy mechanisms for different situations. A subagent runs in its own separate cache, so it's the answer when you're delegating a bounded step. opusplan switches on permission mode automatically - Opus in plan mode, Sonnet in execution - once you're executing an approved plan in your main session, with no extra config.
Why does answering "not sure" always land on Opus?
Because a downgrade only holds when every AND-gate condition is confirmed true - ambiguity resolves to Opus by design, since a wrong downgrade can poison the rest of a session. The wizard mirrors that: skipping a question fails it, same as answering no.
Questions, answered
Is UsageCut really free?
Yes. The scan and every fix are free - no card, no subscription, no signup. You only give an email if you want the optimization plan and one-command undo sent to your inbox.
Is my code safe? Does UsageCut upload anything?
The scan runs entirely on your machine. It never uploads your code, never reads your API key, and never sends your prompts or conversations anywhere. Only anonymous summary counts leave, and only if you choose to share them.
How does it reduce Claude Code token usage?
It reads your local setup and session history to find waste - idle MCP servers loaded into every session, an oversized CLAUDE.md re-sent on every request, duplicate file reads, and bloated tool output - then trims it losslessly, so each session carries less context and you hit your limit far less often.
What is ClockedCode?
ClockedCode is the curated, conflict-free Claude Code setup from the same maker. UsageCut makes your current setup leaner; ClockedCode makes it genuinely better - a set of hand-picked tools, specialist agents, and a tuned CLAUDE.md, installed in one paste.
Who is ClockedCode for?
Developers who use Claude Code daily and want a setup that is powerful out of the box instead of spending hours researching and wiring up plugins, agents, and MCP servers themselves.
What's included in ClockedCode?
A vetted, conflict-free bundle of hand-picked tools, specialist agents, and a tuned CLAUDE.md - everything installed together in one paste, with no setup archaeology.
Is ClockedCode a one-time payment?
Yes. ClockedCode is a one-time purchase with an instant download - no subscription and no recurring fees.
Does ClockedCode work with my existing setup?
Yes. It installs alongside what you already have and is fully reversible. Run UsageCut first to clean your current setup, then add ClockedCode to level it up.