High token consumption with codex and 5.5
OpenAI Developer Community
May 22, 2026
It’s amazing how since 5.2 the Token Usage skyrocketed.
And at this very moment, the 5.5 version is like Claude…
So, i’m not sure what games are we playing, but this is abnormally low, after 2 commands, simple ones for a script edit, i end up with 51% left, working locally, VSCode, Extension Agent.
This made me come here and shout a bit, because i’m not the type that usually comes, but it is so bad that it is needed to complain about it !
Please have a look at token usage, the change from 5.2 to 5.5 is dramatic.
The change from 5.2 to 5.3 is bad as well
Change from 5.2 to 5.4 was more acceptable, but still high, although lower than 5.3
But on 5.5 … we are equaling Claude, which to be honest, i closed it in day 1 after 3 commands and running out of tokens
Discussion in the ATmosphere