Tighten

/lean:tighten

Tighten specified files in the working tree and print a diff. Never commits, never pushes, never requires a clean tree, never scans repo-wide.

This skill is invoked by name, never routed to on the model’s initiative: it edits files, so it must be user-explicit.

Difference from /slop:scan

Use /lean:tighten when

The slop is in files you are actively editing and you want a quick in-place tidy with a diff to review — no commit ceremony, dirty tree fine.

Use /slop:scan when

You want repo-wide coverage with one reviewable, revertable commit per finding, on a clean tree.

$ARGUMENTS

• paths/globs — files to tighten (via git ls-files -- <glob> when tracked, else literal paths).
• --stdin — tighten a pasted draft read from stdin instead of files; print the tightened text and edit nothing.
• --gates — after editing, run the project's discovered format/lint/typecheck once and report. Never commits.
• --diff-only — show what would change without editing.

If $ARGUMENTS is empty, ask which files via AskUserQuestion.

Steps

1. Resolve targets. Expand paths/globs, or read stdin with --stdin. Reject an empty target set with a clear message.
2. Load the rubric and voice. Read ../../references/lean-rubric.md, then ./AGENTS.md and ./CLAUDE.md for the host's rubric and accepted voice. For --gates, take the format/lint/typecheck commands from a checks section in those files; if none is defined, skip gates.
3. Detect. Flag slop per the rubric — AI signatures, brittle references, diff narration, prose inflation, coded labels, and tables where prose reads cleaner. Preserve every load-bearing reference and "why" comment.
4. Preview and confirm. Show the proposed edits and confirm via AskUserQuestion before writing; the preview and the printed diff (Step 6) are the review surface. Skip when --diff-only.
5. Apply in place. Use Edit. Replacements must be concrete and shorter than the original.
6. Diff. Print git diff -- <targets>. With --gates, run the discovered checks once and report; commit on neither pass nor fail.
7. Report and hand off. Summarize findings resolved and skipped, then offer next steps via AskUserQuestion: commit with /commit, run /slop:scan for repo-wide coverage, or discard the edits — review the printed diff first, since git checkout -- <file> resets the whole file to HEAD and drops any other uncommitted work in it.

What this does not do

• Commit or push — you decide; use /commit.
• Rewrite history — that is /pr:deslop.
• Scan the whole repo — that is /slop:scan.
• Delete whole files — too consequential; report them instead.