✦ Installation Guide

Get up and running
in under 60 seconds.

SaveMeTokens runs silently in the background and compresses every prompt you write — in any app.

✦ Step by step

Installation

Download the .deb file and install it with a single command. The installer sets everything up automatically — no manual config needed.

01

Download the .deb file

Click the button below or copy the direct link and download with wget.

Or via terminal:

wget https://your-bucket-url/savemetokens_amd64.deb
02

Install with apt

Run the command below in the folder where you downloaded the file. apt handles all dependencies automatically.

sudo apt install ./savemetokens_amd64.deb
The installer will automatically start the app and enable it to run on every login. You don't need to do anything else.
03

Verify it's running

Confirm the service started successfully. You should see active (running) in green.

systemctl --user status savemetokens

You can also check the live log stream:

journalctl --user -u savemetokens -f
04

Enter your license key

On first launch, a dialog will appear asking for your license key. Paste it in and press OK. The key is saved — you'll never be asked again on this machine.

One machine per license. Your key gets bound to this machine on first activation. To transfer it, contact support.

✦ First time

First Launch

After installation, open any app with a text field — your browser, terminal, VS Code, anything — and try compressing a prompt.

1

Type a prompt anywhere

Open a browser tab with Claude, ChatGPT, or any chat interface. Type something verbose:

// Before
Hey! Could you please explain to me in detail what artificial intelligence actually is?
2

Press Ctrl + Space

The app selects all text in the field, compresses it, and pastes the result back — all in under a second.

// After
Explain what artificial intelligence is
3

Check the tray icon for stats

Look for the SaveMeTokens icon in your system tray. Click it to see how many tokens and how much money you've saved today and all-time.


✦ Keyboard shortcuts

Hotkeys

Two hotkeys. That's it. Works in every app on X11.

Ctrl + Space
Compress prompt— selects all text in the active field, removes filler words and shortens phrases, then pastes the result back.
Ctrl + Q
Toggle on / off— temporarily disables compression without quitting. Press again to re-enable. Useful when you need to type a prompt exactly as written.
Hotkeys are global — they work in every application. The app listens at the OS level, not inside any specific window.

✦ Service management

Start, Stop & Restart

SaveMeTokens runs as a systemd user service. Use these commands to control it from the terminal.

Start the app

If you stopped it and want to run it again without rebooting:

systemctl --user start savemetokens

Stop the app

Stops the running process. It will restart automatically on next login unless you also disable it.

systemctl --user stop savemetokens

Restart the app

Useful after editing your config.json to pick up changes.

systemctl --user restart savemetokens

Disable autostart

Stop the app from starting on login. It will still run in this session until you stop it.

systemctl --user disable savemetokens

To re-enable autostart:

systemctl --user enable savemetokens
?

Check status & logs

See if it's running, how long it's been up, and recent log output:

systemctl --user status savemetokens

Stream live logs:

journalctl --user -u savemetokens -f

✦ Compatibility

What's Supported

SaveMeTokens works at the OS level — it doesn't integrate with any specific app. Anything with a text input field works automatically.

Display Servers

🖥 X11 Supported
🖥 Wayland Coming soon

Operating Systems

🐧 Ubuntu 20.04+Yes
🐧 Debian 11+Yes
🐧 Pop!_OSYes
🐧 Linux MintYes
🐧 Fedora / RPMComing soon
🍎 macOSComing soon
🪟 WindowsComing soon

Works in every app

🌐 Chrome / ChromiumYes
🦊 FirefoxYes
💙 VS CodeYes
🧠 JetBrains IDEsYes
TerminalYes
📝 Any text fieldYes
Wayland support is coming. If you're on Wayland (check: echo $WAYLAND_DISPLAY), the hotkey won't work yet. Switch to an X11 session from your login screen to use the app today.

✦ Troubleshooting

Common Errors

Click any error to see the fix.

First, check the app is actually running:

systemctl --user status savemetokens

If it's not running, start it:

systemctl --user start savemetokens

If it's running but the hotkey still doesn't fire, you may not be in the input group. Run:

sudo usermod -aG input $USER

Then log out and back in. This is required for the keyboard listener to access /dev/input.

This is a clipboard timing issue. The app reads your clipboard to get the text, then writes the compressed version back. If another app (clipboard manager, browser extension) intercepts clipboard events, the old text can sneak back in.

Try disabling any clipboard manager temporarily. If you're using xclipboard, clipman, or similar — stop it while testing.

This means xdotool or xclip isn't installed, or the clipboard copy timed out. Install both:

sudo apt install xdotool xclip

Then restart the app:

systemctl --user restart savemetokens

The tray icon requires a system tray / status notifier. Some desktop environments (especially minimal ones) don't show a tray by default.

On GNOME: install the AppIndicator extension from extensions.gnome.org, then log out and back in.

On KDE, XFCE, Cinnamon: the tray should work out of the box. Check your panel settings to make sure the system tray widget is visible.

The app still works without the tray icon — hotkeys function normally. The tray is only for viewing stats.

The license dialog requires a display connection. If the app starts before your desktop session is fully ready, the GTK dialog can fail silently.

Wait 10–15 seconds after login, then start it manually:

systemctl --user restart savemetokens

Check the logs immediately after for the exact error:

journalctl --user -u savemetokens -n 50

This was a bug in earlier versions where the Ctrl key wasn't released after the hotkey triggered. Make sure you're on the latest version:

sudo apt install ./savemetokens_amd64.deb

The latest version explicitly releases Ctrl before doing anything with the clipboard, so this should no longer happen.

The service may not be enabled. Run:

systemctl --user enable savemetokens

Also make sure systemd user services are enabled for your account (required on some distros):

sudo loginctl enable-linger $USER

✦ Cleanup

Uninstall

Removing the package stops the service, removes the binary, and cleans up the desktop shortcut automatically.

sudo apt remove savemetokens
Your config and usage stats at ~/.config/savemetokens/ are not deleted — so reinstalling picks up where you left off. To fully wipe everything:
rm -rf ~/.config/savemetokens ~/.savemetokens