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 tracking

• conserve:context-optimization

• MECW management

• sanctum:code-review

• Review feedback