claude-code - 💡(How to fix) Fix Expose `cache_control.ttl` (5m / 1h) as a user-configurable setting

Summary

Expose cache_control.ttl (default 5m, options 5m / 1h) as a user-configurable setting in Claude Code, either via a settings.json key (e.g. "promptCacheTtl": "1h") or an environment variable (e.g. CLAUDE_CODE_PROMPT_CACHE_TTL).

Currently the binary appears to hardcode cache_control: {type: "ephemeral"} with no ttl field, which the Anthropic API treats as the 5-minute tier. Users with workflows that include >5-minute pauses (planning, code review, document writing) repeatedly pay the cache-create cost on resumption.

Motivation

I run Claude Code sessions on the claude-opus-4-7 model that frequently pause for 5+ minutes between turns (reading large outputs, planning multi-step work). When I measure the cache_create token usage in the OpenTelemetry logs my session emits, I see a clear pattern:

That is a ~15× cache-miss penalty whenever a pause exceeds the 5-minute ephemeral TTL — which on a thinking-heavy day happens 10-20× per session. At opus pricing this is real money: on one 3-day window I measured roughly $25/day per active session burned on cache TTL expiry alone.

The Anthropic API supports "ttl": "1h" on the cache_control field, but Claude Code does not appear to set it, and I can find no environment variable or settings key that controls it. From strings of the 2.1.133 binary I see literal {type: "ephemeral"} and cache_control changed (scope or TTL), but no CLAUDE_CODE_*_CACHE_* or CLAUDE_CODE_*_TTL* env var name.

Proposed API surface

Two options (either works for me, both is fine):

• settings.json:

  "env": {
    "CLAUDE_CODE_PROMPT_CACHE_TTL": "1h"
  }

  or top-level:

  "promptCacheTtl": "1h"

• CLI flag (for one-off override): claude --prompt-cache-ttl 1h

Valid values: 5m (current default), 1h. Anything else → error at startup.

Cost model context

For my use case (sessions with cache reuse > 24% within an hour), the 1h tier is strictly cheaper than 5m, per the published price table:

• 5m: cache_create = 1.25× input, cache_read = 0.1× input → breakeven at ~12% reuse
• 1h: cache_create = 2.0× input, cache_read = 0.1× input → breakeven at ~24% reuse

Many real-world sessions clear 24% reuse easily, especially anything where the prefix (CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, tools) is large and stable.

What I'd like to avoid

Building a local TLS-terminating proxy that mutates outbound request bodies to inject ttl: "1h". That's where I'm headed if there's no first-class config — it works but it's a maintenance burden that scales linearly with API churn.

Environment

• Claude Code 2.1.133 (also confirmed same behaviour on 2.1.132)
• Ubuntu 24.04, brew install
• claude-opus-4-7 model
• Prompt caching enabled (default)