majiayu000 /distill - Content Distillation
Reduce content size while preserving critical information. Shows quality loss estimation before execution.
Out of scope: Conversation context (use built-in /compact)
Granularity Levels
| Level | Name | Target Reduction | Preserves | May Remove |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | essence |
85-95% | Identity only | Everything except core purpose |
| 2 | summary |
70-80% | + Behavior | Reasoning, examples, context |
| 3 | condensed |
45-60% | + Reasoning | Verbose examples, redundant explanations |
| 4 | detailed |
25-40% | + Context | Redundant phrasing, verbose wording |
| 5 | minimal |
10-20% | All facts, rules, examples, structure | Filler words, redundant phrasing, excessive formatting |
Criticality Heuristics
Priority order for preservation (highest → lowest):
| Content Type | Criticality Order |
|---|---|
| policy | Rules > Priority > Rationale > Examples > Detection |
| code | Signatures > Logic > Types > Comments > Formatting |
| memory | Facts > Decisions > Reasoning > Timestamps > Verbose |
| artifacts | Requirements > Criteria > Rationale > Background > Examples |
| default | Critical > Important > Helpful > Context > Lossy |
Workflow
1. Run Estimation Script
.claude/skills/distill/scripts/estimate_distill.py "$FILE" [content_type]
2. Present Results & Confirm
/distill global/policy/RULES.md
Tokens: ~4364
| Level | After | Reduction | Critical Loss |
|--------------|-------|-----------|---------------|
| 1. essence | ~654 | 85% | ~35% |
| 2. summary | ~1527 | 65% | ~15% |
| 3. condensed | ~2400 | 45% | ~5% |
| 4. detailed | ~3273 | 25% | ~2% |
| 5. minimal | ~3709 | 15% | ~0% |
----------------------------------------------------
Select level [1-5/cancel]:
3. Execute Distillation
Remove ONLY what "May Remove" permits for selected level.
Self-check: If removing content not in "May Remove" column → STOP, wrong level.
4. Verify & Report
After writing, measure actual tokens:
.claude/skills/distill/scripts/estimate_distill.py "$FILE" [content_type]
Report (compare against initial estimation, not generic range):
Before: 4434 tokens → Estimated: 2858 tokens (35% reduction)
Actual: 2621 tokens (41%) | Variance: +6%
If variance >10%, warn and offer git restore.
5. Output Location
- Git-versioned files: Replace original (git tracks history)
- Serena memories: Archive old as
<name>_archived_<timestamp>, write new
Anti-Patterns
- Distilling without estimation first
- Removing content not permitted by level's "May Remove"
- Not verifying actual vs target reduction
- Skipping user confirmation