# Shorten It

> Shorten existing text while preserving meaning, tone, nuance, and important details. Use when the user asks for a shorter version or a tighter word or character limit without changing the text's job or claims.

- Skill: `alannkl/shorten-it` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add alannkl/shorten-it`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/alannkl/shorten-it/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Docs & Writing
- Author: alannkl (https://skillmd.com/u/alannkl)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/alannkl/shorten-it

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# Shorten It

Shorten existing text without changing its job, claims, audience, or voice. Add nothing.

## Workflow

1. Preserve meaning first.
   - Keep intent, tone, nuance, claims, caveats, scope, names and identifiers, numbers, examples, technical terms, requirements, constraints, and steps unless clearly redundant. Redundant means cutting it breaks nothing; if something breaks, keep it or merge it.

2. Cut only low-value wording.
   - Remove repetition, filler, hedging, verbose transitions, and needless nesting.
   - Merge duplicated ideas, overlapping bullets, or overlapping paragraphs.
   - Keep the small words that carry structure; never trade clarity for word count. "Remove backup file" reads two ways; "Remove the backup file" reads one. Keep "that" where it forces a single parse, and keep "only" and "not" beside the word they change.

3. Return the shortened text.
   - Follow any requested length or format.
   - Change text only where a cut or merge happened.
   - Output only the shortened version.
   - If the requested length would require losing important meaning, say so briefly.