| name | token-economics |
| description | Token budgeting discipline for all agents. Treats tokens as a resource from session start — not just when the buffer hits 60%. Covers prompt compression, context hygiene, handoff packing, and HOT memory pruning. |
| argument-hint | Context management, token budgeting, session handoff, or prompt efficiency question |
Token Economics
Tokens are a resource. Treat them as a budget from the first message, not a crisis to manage when the buffer alarm fires.
Inspired by the Caveman token compression philosophy (MIT License): tighter semantic frames improve both cost and model reasoning quality. The working buffer protocol in proactive-agent is the crisis backstop — this skill is the upstream discipline that delays or avoids that crisis.
Budget-First Mindset
Before every response, ask: is this response as compact as it can be while still being useful?
- Prefer a file reference over re-pasting file content into chat.
- Prefer a symbol name + line number over quoting a block of code.
- Prefer a one-sentence decision summary over re-explaining the context.
- If a question can be answered with one sentence, use one sentence.
Read Hygiene
- If the current hub has an optional codebase-intelligence lens skill, check for existing pre-computed artifacts before a multi-file Grep sweep — pre-computed graphs answer caller/callee/hotspot questions for free; paying for repeated Grep passes over source that's already indexed is a budget leak.
- Don't re-read a file you already read in the same session unless its content may have changed.
- Don't re-read a skill or profile already loaded this session.
- When a tool result is large, extract only the relevant fragment and discard the rest mentally.
- If a read returns more than needed, work from the relevant part — don't quote the whole result back.
Working Buffer Compression
When writing to memory/working-buffer.md or memory/<agent>.md:
- Write the decision or outcome, not the conversation.
- Write the current state, not how you got there.
- If a fact is derivable from the code or git history, don't store it in memory — read it when needed.
- HOT memory is for things that will vanish on compaction. If it survives a
grep, it doesn't need to be in HOT.
Handoff Packing
When handing off between agents or sessions:
- Pass: the decision made, constraints it created, and the next concrete action.
- Don't pass: the full conversation, the reasoning path, or the context already in the ticket.
- If handing off to Builder, the ticket IS the context — don't duplicate it in the dispatch message.
- If handing off at session end, update
memory/<agent>.md HOT section and stop. The next session reads memory, not chat history.
HOT Memory Pruning
Aggressively retire HOT items:
- If a decision is confirmed and has no open action, move it to WARM.
- If an item has been in HOT for more than 48 hours with no reference, move it to WARM.
- If an item is recoverable from a git log, ticket, or file read, remove it from HOT entirely.
- A long HOT section is a signal that decisions aren't being closed — not a sign of thoroughness.
Prompt Construction
When invoking a subagent or spawning a task:
- Include only the context the subagent cannot derive itself.
- Name the exact file, line, or artifact — don't describe it in prose.
- State the question or task in one sentence before any supporting context.
- Remove the supporting context if the subagent can read it directly.
