tighten-for-llms

name	tighten-for-llms
description	Tighten prose for LLM consumption. Strip filler, switch to imperative voice, collapse verbose lists. Apply to any markdown documentation — skill files, agents, references, rules, CLAUDE.md
model	sonnet
argument-hint	[dry-run] [file-path | skill-name | agent-name | docs | readme | rules]
allowed-tools	["Read","Edit","Glob","Grep","AskUserQuestion"]

Follow steps EXACTLY.

- [ ] 1. Resolve the target
- [ ] 2. Read and classify
- [ ] 3. Tighten
- [ ] 4. Report

1. Resolve the Target

Mode: Dry-run is active when the invocation contains dry-run, or the user's request includes "dry run", "test tightening", or "try tightening". Strip dry-run from the argument before resolving the target file.

Identify the target: an attached file, a pasted block of markdown, or a file path. For binary formats (docx, pdf), extract text first.

If the target is unclear, ask. Typical targets: a recently edited or created skill, agent, reference, rule, README.md, or CLAUDE.md file, or text pasted into the chat session.

2. Read and Classify

Read each file. Record word count.

Classification	Files
LLM-facing	SKILL.md, agent .md, reference .md, rule .md, CLAUDE.md
External-facing	README.md

3. Tighten

Surgical edits per classification. Preserve substance, not structure — collapse or eliminate whole sections when they're mostly padding.

Context check: Read the surrounding sentence before cutting a candidate phrase. Keep phrases that carry meaning — e.g., "You should never commit .env files" (the imperative IS the rule). Cut only padding.

Code block check: If surrounding text makes a block redundant, cut the block and its scaffolding header ("Good example:", "But DO NOT:").

Edit	LLM-facing	External-facing
Voice	Imperative — convert "[Subject] should [verb]" → "[Verb]" (e.g., "The assistant should select" → "Select")	—
Remove	Filler ("In order to", "Please note that", "You should", "Make sure to"), purpose framing ("is designed to", "is intended to", "is used to"), section intros that only announce what follows, result descriptions (sentences or sections that describe output shape rather than action), meta-commentary, example scaffolding headers when their example is cut, H1s restating the file name or type (e.g. # CLAUDE.md, # Knock-Knock Joke Skill)	Internal context, author sections, internal notes
Collapse	Verbose lists → tables; multi-bullet elaborations → single dense sentence or fragment	Bullets → tables or paragraphs
Headers	—	Scannable noun phrases
Preserve	Frontmatter, ---, section headers, code blocks containing information absent from surrounding text	Code examples, links, install instructions

Dry-run mode: Instead of using Edit, output the full tightened content as a fenced markdown block with the header ## Dry Run: path/to/file.md. Do not call the Edit tool.

Result description (cut): "The output will consist of five lines" — describes the result of steps already present; cut.

4. Report

Display a word count summary table:

File	Before	After	Reduction
path/to/file.md	342	218	36%

Include totals row if multiple files were tightened.

If dry-run mode: add (dry run — file not modified) below the table.