Anthropic quietly nerfed Claude Code's 1-hour cache (www.xda-developers.com)

Anthropic has reduced the default caching duration for its Claude Code tool from one hour to just five minutes, leading to significantly increased token usage for developers relying on the AI-powered coding assistant. This change, which was implemented quietly in early April without a formal announcement, impacts how the tool understands and maintains context within longer code tasks. Many users have reported feeling the effects as they deplete their token quotas faster than before, particularly in workflows that require sustained interaction with the AI. The reduction in caching time raises concerns for the AI/ML community, especially for those involved in long-term coding projects. With the move to a shorter caching period, developers face increased costs due to a larger number of 'cache busts,' where the AI has to rebuild context from scratch, instead of utilizing previously stored context. This change not only complicates the financial aspect for subscribers but also disrupts the user experience, leading to more frequent context resets during extended coding sessions. While Anthropic has defended the change as a way to make the service more efficient for casual users, it has left dedicated developers feeling sidelined by a lack of transparency and adequate communication.