Less
Say the last thing again, shorter. Compress what was already said — never redo
the work that produced it.
/less [N | paragraph] [set]
/less unset
| Argument |
Do |
| (none) |
Compress the previous response to one paragraph |
N |
Compress it to at most N sentences |
paragraph |
Compress it to at most one paragraph |
… set |
Compress now, then cap every later response until unset — references/sticky.md |
unset |
Drop the active cap, confirm in one sentence |
| anything else |
One sentence of usage, nothing more |
A bare set takes the paragraph default, so /less set is /less paragraph set.
Rules
- Compress, never recompute. The source is the last message the reader
actually received — not tool output, not a status note behind it. No tool
calls, no re-reading, no fresh reasoning, no claim that was not already made.
- Lead with the outcome. The first sentence answers what happened or what
the answer is.
- The cap is hard. N means at most N sentences;
paragraph means one
paragraph. Prose at every level: no headers, no bullets, no preamble. One
claim per sentence — a run-on that obeys the letter of the cap has failed it.
- Keep what bites. Errors and failures, warnings about destructive or
irreversible actions, risks the reader is walking toward, what they must do
next, and the concrete values those depend on — numbers, paths, commands,
URLs. Fold them into the sentences you have; never spend budget announcing
them separately.
- One code block is free when the payload is a command or snippet. The
prose around it still counts.
- Cut in this order: process narration, roads not taken, hedging that
carries no risk or decision of its own, background.
Rules 1 and 4 outrank the rest, and their collision has exactly one release
valve: an error, a destructive-action warning, or the reader's required next
step that truly cannot fold in may bend the cap by a single sentence, once per
response — concrete values never earn the bend. The full response is still on
screen, so point at what will not fit ("the four steps above") rather than
dropping it silently.
A cap governs the response, never the work. A capped turn still gets the
full investigation — every file read, every test run, every check that request
deserved. Only the report is short. A cap is never a reason to skip a step,
guess instead of checking, or drop a question the work needs answered.
references/compression.md carries the counting
rules, the worked examples, and the degenerate cases. Read it when the source
is more than plain prose, or when the cap is one sentence.
Edge cases
- Nothing substantive to compress — the previous turn was a greeting, an
acknowledgment, or empty: say so in one sentence and answer nothing new. A
question is substantive: compress it, never answer it on the reader's behalf.
- Already within the cap: return it unchanged. Do not pad it, and do not
announce that it already fit.
- Previous response was itself
/less output: compress again from it.
1---2name: less3description: Re-renders the previous response shorter: one sentence, two, or a paragraph. Use for tldr, condense, too long, brevity cap.4---56# Less78Say the last thing again, shorter. Compress what was already said — never redo9the work that produced it.1011```text12/less [N | paragraph] [set]13/less unset14```1516| Argument | Do |17| --- | --- |18| *(none)* | Compress the previous response to one paragraph |19| `N` | Compress it to at most N sentences |20| `paragraph` | Compress it to at most one paragraph |21| `… set` | Compress now, then cap every later response until unset — [references/sticky.md](references/sticky.md) |22| `unset` | Drop the active cap, confirm in one sentence |23| anything else | One sentence of usage, nothing more |2425A bare `set` takes the paragraph default, so `/less set` is `/less paragraph26set`.2728## Rules29301. **Compress, never recompute.** The source is the last message the reader31 actually received — not tool output, not a status note behind it. No tool32 calls, no re-reading, no fresh reasoning, no claim that was not already made.332. **Lead with the outcome.** The first sentence answers what happened or what34 the answer is.353. **The cap is hard.** N means at most N sentences; `paragraph` means one36 paragraph. Prose at every level: no headers, no bullets, no preamble. One37 claim per sentence — a run-on that obeys the letter of the cap has failed it.384. **Keep what bites.** Errors and failures, warnings about destructive or39 irreversible actions, risks the reader is walking toward, what they must do40 next, and the concrete values those depend on — numbers, paths, commands,41 URLs. Fold them into the sentences you have; never spend budget announcing42 them separately.435. **One code block is free** when the payload *is* a command or snippet. The44 prose around it still counts.456. **Cut in this order:** process narration, roads not taken, hedging that46 carries no risk or decision of its own, background.4748Rules 1 and 4 outrank the rest, and their collision has exactly one release49valve: an error, a destructive-action warning, or the reader's required next50step that truly cannot fold in may bend the cap by a single sentence, once per51response — concrete values never earn the bend. The full response is still on52screen, so point at what will not fit ("the four steps above") rather than53dropping it silently.5455**A cap governs the response, never the work.** A capped turn still gets the56full investigation — every file read, every test run, every check that request57deserved. Only the report is short. A cap is never a reason to skip a step,58guess instead of checking, or drop a question the work needs answered.5960[references/compression.md](references/compression.md) carries the counting61rules, the worked examples, and the degenerate cases. Read it when the source62is more than plain prose, or when the cap is one sentence.6364## Edge cases6566- **Nothing substantive to compress** — the previous turn was a greeting, an67 acknowledgment, or empty: say so in one sentence and answer nothing new. A68 question is substantive: compress it, never answer it on the reader's behalf.69- **Already within the cap**: return it unchanged. Do not pad it, and do not70 announce that it already fit.71- **Previous response was itself `/less` output**: compress again from it.
gpu-cli