How many distinct tools does Claude Code reach for in a session? Focused specialist or full-toolkit generalist?
npx cc-toolbox
Zero dependencies. Reads ~/.claude/projects/ directly.
cc-toolbox — How Many Tools Does Claude Code Use Per Session?
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Sessions analyzed: 2,123
Distinct Tool Types Per Session
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1 type ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░ 347 16.3%
2 types ██████████░░░░░░░░░░ 454 21.4%
3 types ████████████████████ 566 26.7% ← most common
4 types █████████░░░░░░░░░░░ 404 19.0%
5 types ██░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 102 4.8%
6-7 types ██░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 101 4.8%
8-10 types █░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 59 2.8%
11+ types ██░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 90 4.2%
Median: 3 tool types | Mean: 3.5
Tool Universality (% of sessions each tool appeared in)
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Read ████████████████ 82.4%
Bash ██████████████░░ 70.3%
Grep █████████░░░░░░░ 43.9%
Glob ████████░░░░░░░░ 40.5%
Write ████░░░░░░░░░░░░ 22.0%
Edit ████░░░░░░░░░░░░ 18.7%
...
Top Tool Trios (most-used 3 tools per session)
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Bash+Grep+Read ████████████████ 342 16.1%
Bash+Glob+Read ████████████░░░░ 236 11.1%
Glob+Grep+Read ███████████░░░░░ 211 9.9%
Bash+Edit+Read ████████░░░░░░░░ 150 7.1%
Bash+Read+Write █████░░░░░░░░░░░ 107 5.0%
- 3 is the magic number — the most common session uses exactly 3 distinct tool types (26.7%)
- 61.7% of sessions use 3 or fewer tools — focused, narrow-scope work dominates
- Read is universal — it appears in 82.4% of all sessions. Almost no session avoids it
- Bash+Grep+Read is the canonical trio (16.1% of sessions) — read context, search for patterns, execute
- 11+ type sessions (4.2%) are the marathon autonomous loops — these sessions touch everything
| Count | Archetype | % |
|---|---|---|
| 1-2 types | Quick lookup / single-task | 37.7% |
| 3-4 types | Focused work session | 45.7% |
| 5-7 types | Multi-step project | 9.6% |
| 8-10 types | Complex session | 2.8% |
| 11+ types | Autonomous marathon | 4.2% |
npx cc-toolbox --json # Raw JSON output
yurukusa.github.io/cc-toolbox — drag and drop your projects folder.
Part of cc-toolkit — tools for understanding your Claude Code sessions.
Claude Code Ops Kit ($19) — 16 production hooks + 5 templates + 3 tools. Built from 160+ hours of autonomous operation.
Source: yurukusa/cc-toolbox