simplicio-compress

name

simplicio-compress

description

Cut output and memory tokens without losing meaning — terse prose levels (caveman-style) that preserve code/paths/URLs byte-for-byte, plus a one-time memory/doc compaction pass that pays back every future turn. Use when replies or worker reports are verbose, when standing context (CLAUDE.md/AGENTS.md/notes) is bloated, or when simplicio-tasks needs its output-side + input-side token discipline. Compression NEVER touches code, identifiers, or a safety confirmation.

simplicio-compress — output & memory token discipline

Two distinct surfaces, two passes:

1. Output-side — compress the model's own PROSE (replies, reports, digests).
2. Input-side — compress STANDING context once (memory/docs), amortized across every turn.

Both preserve every load-bearing token exactly. Credit: folds caveman (terse prose levels, byte-preserve identifiers, memory-file compaction, honest baseline) into the simplicio transform_guard safety spine. This is the standalone form of simplicio-tasks' density tiers

• one-time standing-context compaction.

Output-side: prose levels

Pick the leanest level that still reads correctly; default full. The level applies to PROSE ONLY:

Level	Use	Effect
lite	human-facing PR bodies, confirmations	drop filler ("I will now", "let me", hedging); keep full sentences
full	default	normal terse technical prose
ultra	worker→orchestrator reports, internal digests	telegraphic fragments; articles/copulas dropped

There is NO grammar-mangling level. Terse prose is fine; mangling grammar degrades code review, confirmations, and instructions — we keep the discipline, not the gimmick.

The one inviolable rule (byte-preservation)

Code, commands, error strings, URLs, file paths, identifiers, version/numeric tokens stay EXACT — never paraphrased, reflowed, or "cleaned up". Compression rewrites the connective prose AROUND them, never them. A safety confirmation, irreversible-op warning, or order-dependent sequence is NEVER compressed (auto-clarity — see simplicio-orient).

transform_guard (zero-LLM, fail-closed) — runs on every compaction

Before accepting ANY compressed artifact, run a deterministic check with NO model tokens: extract the set of code fences, inline-code tokens (BY OCCURRENCE count, so a lost duplicate is caught), URLs, file paths, and version/numeric tokens from BEFORE and AFTER.

• Any LOST code/URL/path/version token → HARD failure: discard the compaction, keep the original byte-identical.
• Heading/bullet-count drift → WARNING only.
• On hard failure, issue ONE targeted fix touching only the flagged tokens (max 2 retries); still failing → abort to original. Never ship a silently-corrupted artifact.

Input-side: one-time memory/doc compaction

The orchestrator re-loads its standing protocol + shared digest + memory on EVERY tick — compacting them ONCE pays back across hundreds of iterations (caveman reports ~46% input reduction on memory files).

Procedure:

1. Target prose-heavy standing files (CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, shared digest, long notes). Skip pure code/config/lockfiles.
2. Rewrite to terse form preserving code/paths/URLs/numbers/versions VERBATIM; run through transform_guard.
3. Keep a .original backup; in mixed files touch ONLY prose, never code blocks.
4. Load the compact form thereafter; re-compact only when the source materially changes.

Honest savings (the caveman baseline nuance)

Report savings against a realistic control arm — the cheapest sensible NON-orchestrated path to the SAME outcome (a generic terse "answer concisely" LLM pass over only the files genuinely needed) — NOT a verbose strawman that assumes bulk-reading the whole repo at max verbosity.

• saved = baseline − spent, disclosed as approximate.
• Savings counts only on a verified-correct outcome (the item passed run-verification + acceptance criteria). Aggressive compression that fails its gate earns ZERO credit — else the metric rewards the degenerate "empty answer maximizes savings".
• These are OUTPUT-token reductions; note that thinking/reasoning tokens are untouched.

Emit the standard line:

simplicio-tasks: ~<spent> tokens · baseline ~<control-arm> · saved ~<saved> (<pct>%)

Guardrails

• Never compress: code, config, lockfiles, secrets-adjacent text, safety confirmations.
• Never paraphrase an identifier to "save a token" — transform_guard will fail closed.
• A compaction that can't pass the guard is reverted, not shipped.