athola Table of Contents
- Elimination Rules
- Before/After Transformations
- Termination Guidelines
- Directness Guidelines
- Quick Reference Checklist
- Token Impact
- Integration
Response Compression
Eliminate response bloat to save 200-400 tokens per response while maintaining clarity.
When To Use
- Reducing verbose output to save context tokens
- Providing concise answers without losing information
When NOT To Use
- Educational explanations where detail improves understanding
- First-time setup instructions needing step-by-step clarity
Elimination Rules
ELIMINATE
| Category | Examples | Replacement |
|---|---|---|
| Decorative Emojis | -- |
(remove entirely) |
| Filler Words | "just", "simply", "basically", "essentially" | (remove or rephrase) |
| Hedging Language | "might", "could", "perhaps", "potentially", "I think" | Use factual statements |
| Hype Words | "powerful", "amazing", "seamless", "robust", "elegant" | Use precise descriptors |
| Conversational Framing | "Let's dive in", "Now that we've", "Moving forward" | Start with content |
| Transitions | "Furthermore", "Additionally", "In conclusion" | (remove, use structure) |
| Call-to-Action | "Feel free to", "Don't hesitate to", "Let me know if" | (remove from endings) |
PRESERVE (When Appropriate)
| Category | Example | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
| Status Indicators | [pass] [fail] [warn] |
In structured output, checklists |
| Technical Precision | Exact error messages | When debugging |
| Safety Warnings | Critical info about data loss | Always preserve |
| Context Setting | Brief necessary background | When user lacks context |
Before/After Transformations
Example 1: Opening Bloat
Before (68 tokens):
Great question! I'd be happy to help you understand how this works.
The bloat detector is a powerful tool that analyzes your codebase
and provides comprehensive insights into potential issues...
After (28 tokens):
The bloat detector analyzes codebases using three tiers: quick scan
(heuristics), static analysis (tools), and deep audit (git history).
Example 2: Closing Bloat
Before (45 tokens):
I've completed the task. Here's what I did:
- Deleted 5 files
- Saved 18k tokens
Next steps:
1. Review the changes
2. Run tests
3. Commit if satisfied
Let me know if you need anything else!
After (15 tokens):
Done. Deleted 5 files, saved 18k tokens.
Backup: backup/unbloat-20260102
Example 3: Hedging Removal
Before:
I think this might potentially be causing the issue, but I could be wrong.
Perhaps we should consider looking into it further.
After:
This causes the issue. Investigate the connection pool timeout setting.
Termination Guidelines
When to Stop
End response immediately after:
- Delivering requested information
- Completing requested task
- Providing necessary context
Avoid Trailing Content
| Pattern | Action |
|---|---|
| "Next steps:" | Remove unless safety-critical |
| "Let me know if..." | Remove always |
| "Summary:" | Remove (user has the response) |
| "Hope this helps!" | Remove always |
| Bullet recaps | Remove (redundant) |
Exceptions (When Summaries Help)
- Multi-part tasks with many changes
- User explicitly requests summary
- Critical rollback/backup information
- Complex debugging with multiple findings
Directness Guidelines
Direct =/= Rude
Goal: Information density, not coldness.
| Eliminate | Preserve |
|---|---|
| Unnecessary encouragement | Technical context |
| Rapport-building filler | Safety warnings |
| Hedging without reason | Necessary explanations |
| Positive padding | Factual uncertainty markers |
Encouragement Bloat
Eliminate:
- "Great question!"
- "Excellent point!"
- "Good thinking!"
- "That's a great approach!"
Replace with: Direct answers to the question.
Rapport-Building Filler
Eliminate:
- "I'd be happy to help you..."
- "Feel free to ask if..."
- "I hope this helps!"
- "Let me know if you need..."
Replace with: Useful information or nothing.
Preserve Helpful Directness
The following are NOT bloat:
- Brief context when user needs it
- Clarifying questions when ambiguity affects correctness
- Warnings about destructive operations
- Error explanations that help debugging
Quick Reference Checklist
Before finalizing response:
- No decorative emojis (status indicators OK)
- No filler words (just, simply, basically)
- No hedging without technical uncertainty
- No hype words (powerful, amazing, robust)
- No conversational framing at start
- No unnecessary transitions
- No "let me know" or "feel free" closings
- No summary of what was just said
- No "next steps" unless safety-critical
- Ends after delivering value
Token Impact
| Pattern | Typical Savings |
|---|---|
| Eliminating opening bloat | 30-50 tokens |
| Removing closing fluff | 20-40 tokens |
| Cutting filler words | 10-20 tokens |
| Removing emoji | 5-15 tokens |
| Direct answers | 50-100 tokens |
| Total per response | 150-350 tokens |
Over 1000 responses: 150k-350k tokens saved.
Integration
This skill works with:
conserve:token-conservation- Budget trackingconserve:context-optimization- MECW managementsanctum:code-review- Review feedback
Exit Criteria
- Response contains none of the banned openers: "Great question!", "I'd be happy to help", "Let's dive in", "Furthermore", "Additionally", "In conclusion"
- Response contains no trailing filler: "Let me know if...", "Feel free to...", "Hope this helps!", "Next steps:" (unless safety-critical)
- Token count of final response is 150-400 tokens lower than a naive version of the same content would be, verified by comparing before/after examples when token impact is measurable
- Safety warnings, technical precision, and factual uncertainty markers are preserved intact; only decorative and conversational content is removed
Source: athola/claude-night-market → plugins/conserve/skills/response-compression/SKILL.md