VS Code Copilot

Add to .vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "vision-squeezer": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "vision-squeezer"]
    }
  }
}

JetBrains (IntelliJ, WebStorm, PyCharm)

Open Tools → GitHub Copilot → Model Context Protocol (MCP) → Configure, then add:

{
  "servers": {
    "vision-squeezer": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "vision-squeezer"]
    }
  }
}

Windsurf

Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vision-squeezer": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "vision-squeezer"]
    }
  }
}

Gemini CLI

gemini mcp add --scope user vision-squeezer -- npx -y vision-squeezer

Or add to ~/.gemini/settings.json (user) / .gemini/settings.json (project):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vision-squeezer": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "vision-squeezer"]
    }
  }
}

Codex CLI

codex mcp add vision-squeezer -- npx -y vision-squeezer

Or add to ~/.codex/config.toml:

[mcp_servers.vision-squeezer]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "vision-squeezer"]

Qwen Code

qwen mcp add vision-squeezer -- npx -y vision-squeezer

OpenCode

opencode mcp add is interactive-only, so add directly to ~/.config/opencode/opencode.json (global) or opencode.json in the repo root (project):

{
  "mcp": {
    "vision-squeezer": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": ["npx", "-y", "vision-squeezer"],
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

Kimi CLI

kimi mcp add vision-squeezer -- npx -y vision-squeezer

Zed

Add to ~/.config/zed/settings.json:

{
  "context_servers": {
    "vision-squeezer": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "vision-squeezer"]
    }
  }
}

Kiro

Add to .kiro/settings/mcp.json (workspace) or ~/.kiro/settings/mcp.json (global):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vision-squeezer": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "vision-squeezer"]
    }
  }
}

Antigravity

MCP-only, no hooks needed. Configure via the Antigravity MCP settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vision-squeezer": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "vision-squeezer"]
    }
  }
}

If you send raw images to an LLM, you are leaking tokens. Modern vision models do not care about your file size (MB/KB); they only care about pixel dimensions, but each provider calculates costs completely differently. vision-squeezer simulates these algorithms to find the mathematical minimum size that drops your token usage without losing visual context.

1. Claude (Area-Based)

As of 2026 (Claude 3.5 / 4.5+), Anthropic uses an area-based formula: Tokens ≈ (Width × Height) / 750. Every single pixel of solid background or padding costs you tokens.

• The Fix: vision-squeezer aggressively crops padding (removing solid color borders). A 1025×1025 screenshot shrinks just enough to drop from 1,400 tokens to 1,024 tokens (%26 savings).

2. GPT-4.5 / GPT-4o (Tiling & Short-side Scaling)

OpenAI scales your image to fit inside a 2048px box, then rescales it again so the shortest side is exactly 768px. Finally, it chops the image into a grid of 512×512 tiles. Each tile costs 170 tokens.

• The Fix: If your image's shortest side ends up being 769px, OpenAI will spill over into an entirely new row of 512×512 tiles, doubling your cost. vision-squeezer simulates this exact math and snaps the image down by a few pixels so it fits perfectly into the minimum number of tiles.

3. Gemini 2.0 / 3.0 (Massive Tiles)

Gemini uses a massive 768×768 tile system (if the image is > 384px). Each tile is a flat 258 tokens.

• The Fix: An 800×600 image will trigger a 2×1 tile grid (1,032 tokens). vision-squeezer snaps it down slightly to fit exactly inside a 768×768 box, dropping the cost to 258 tokens (%75 savings).

4. Llama 3.2 / 3.3 Vision (560px Tiles)

Meta's Mllama vision tiles images on a 560×560 grid, capped at 4 tiles (~1601 tokens each).

• The Fix: A 2400×1670 screenshot trimmed to 2400×1200 drops from a 2×2 to a 2×1 canvas: 6,404 → 3,202 tokens (−50%). (Llama 4 uses a different vision encoder and is not modeled.)

5. Qwen2-VL / 2.5-VL / 3-VL (28px Patch Grid)

Alibaba's Qwen-VL uses a 28px effective grid (14px patch × 2×2 merge); tokens = (W/28)·(H/28) bounded to [4, 16384].

• The Fix: The patch is small, so area is the lever — a 1024×1024 image with its border stripped to 896×896 drops 1,369 → 1,024 tokens (−25%).

6. DeepSeek-VL2 (384px Anyres Tiles)

SigLIP-384 + 2× pixel-shuffle gives 196 tokens/tile on a (m·384, n·384) canvas (m·n ≤ 9).

• The Fix: An 800×768 image snapped to 768×768 drops from 3×2 to 2×2 tiles: 1,415 → 1,023 tokens (−28%). (Open weights — the win is local-inference context, not API billing.)

Full provider math, exact formulas, and cited sources: visionsqueezer.com/providers

Example 2: Model-Targeted Optimization (GPT-4o)

If you tell Squeezer the target model, it reverses the model's exact internal calculation (e.g. GPT-4.5's 768px short-side scaling algorithm) and mathematically shrinks the image just enough to fit the absolute minimum tile grid.

vision-squeezer data/istanbul.jpg --model gpt4o

Input:  2400×1670  (0.5 MB)
Output: 2399×1200  (0.3 MB, JPG q75)
File:   33.6% smaller

── Token Estimates ─────────────────────────────────────────
Model          Before    After      Saved
------------------------------------------
Claude           5344     3838     1506 (28.2%)
GPT-4o           1105     1105        0 (0.0%)
GPT-5            1536     1536        0 (0.0%)
Gemini           3096     2064     1032 (33.3%)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Notice how targeting gpt4o perfectly fits the image into a solid 6-tile boundary (2399x1200) mathematically calculated backwards from OpenAI's short-side scaling algorithm. It maximizes resolution exactly up to the point where an extra tile would be billed.

Example 3: Model-Targeted Optimization (Claude)

Since Claude uses an area-based calculation (W × H / 750), Squeezer primarily focuses on aggressively cropping solid-color borders and padding to shrink the pixel area without drastically downscaling the core visual detail.

vision-squeezer data/istanbul.jpg --model claude

Input:  2400×1670  (0.5 MB)
Output: 2304×1536  (0.4 MB, JPG q75)
File:   21.3% smaller

── Token Estimates ─────────────────────────────────────────
Model          Before    After      Saved
------------------------------------------
Claude           5344     4718      626 (11.7%)
GPT-4o           1105     1105        0 (0.0%)
GPT-5            1536     1536        0 (0.0%)
Gemini           3096     1548     1548 (50.0%)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Claude benefits tremendously from even minor dimension reductions. By snapping the width and height slightly downwards, we immediately shaved off over 600 tokens while preserving the massive 2304×1536 resolution.

Example 2: Model-Targeted Optimization (GPT-4o)

vision-squeezer data/istanbul2.jpg --model gpt4o

Input:  4096×3072  (2.2 MB)
Output: 4095×2048  (1.2 MB, JPG q75)
File:   43.2% smaller

── Token Estimates ─────────────────────────────────────────
Model          Before    After      Saved
------------------------------------------
Claude          16777    11182     5595 (33.3%)
GPT-4o            765     1105        0 (0.0%)
GPT-5            1536     1536        0 (0.0%)
Gemini           6192     4644     1548 (25.0%)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

(By explicitly targeting gpt4o, Squeezer optimizes the boundaries such that the new aspect ratio is safely contained. While GPT-4o still bills for the 6-tile layout due to the image's inherent width, Squeezer shrinks the file footprint by 43% without sacrificing high-resolution details.)

Example 3: Model-Targeted Optimization (Claude)

vision-squeezer data/istanbul2.jpg --model claude

Input:  4096×3072  (2.2 MB)
Output: 3840×2816  (1.5 MB, JPG q75)
File:   31.5% smaller

── Token Estimates ─────────────────────────────────────────
Model          Before    After      Saved
------------------------------------------
Claude          16777    14417     2360 (14.1%)
GPT-4o            765     1105        0 (0.0%)
GPT-5            1536     1536        0 (0.0%)
Gemini           6192     5160     1032 (16.7%)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

(Claude's area-based formula again allows massive token savings simply by trimming to the 3840×2816 boundary, preventing you from paying for over 2,300 tokens of pure padding while retaining 10+ megapixels of fidelity).

💡 FAQ: Wait, why did targeting gpt4o save 33% of Claude tokens, but targeting claude only saved 14%? Because of the Quality vs. Aggression trade-off. OpenAI enforces a strict maximum internal resolution (2048px). When you target gpt4o, Squeezer must aggressively squash the massive 4096px image down to fit OpenAI's constraints (4095x2048). This massive loss in total pixel area mathematically translates to a huge token drop for Claude. However, Claude has no such maximum limits. When you explicitly target claude, Squeezer knows it doesn't need to destroy your image's resolution. It carefully keeps the massive 3840x2816 size to preserve ultra-fine detail, only trimming the absolute minimum padding to give you the most cost-efficient lossless version possible.