compress

name	compress
description	Compresses natural language files (markdown, text) into caveman-speak to reduce input token usage ~46%. Backs up original before overwriting. Only touches prose — code blocks stay exact. Trigger: /caveman:compress <filepath>, or user asks to compress a memory/doc file.

Compress target file to caveman prose. Backup first. Code blocks exact. Retry up to 2x on error.

Trigger

/caveman:compress <filepath> or user asks to "compress this file", "shrink this doc", "make this memory smaller".

Allowed file types

.md, .txt, .typ, .typst, .tex, extensionless files only.

Never touch: .py, .js, .ts, .json, .yaml, .yml, .env, .toml, .sh, or any code file. Never re-compress .original.md files.

Process

1. Read target file
2. Create backup: <filename>.original.md (same dir) — skip if already exists
3. Compress prose sections (see rules below)
4. Write compressed content back to original file path
5. Report: original token count, compressed token count, % reduction

Compression rules

Remove: articles (a/an/the), filler (just, really, basically, actually, simply, in order to → to), pleasantries (please, feel free to, don't hesitate), hedging (you might want to, consider, perhaps), "you should" constructions.

Preserve exactly: code blocks (...), inline code (...), URLs, file paths, shell commands, technical terms, proper nouns, dates, version numbers, env vars, error strings.

Preserve structure: markdown headings, bullet hierarchies, numbered lists, tables, YAML frontmatter.

Compress text: shorter synonyms, sentence fragments OK, merge redundant bullets into one, keep single representative example when multiple exist.

Example:

• Before: "You should always run your tests before pushing your changes to make sure everything is working correctly."
• After: "Run tests before push."

Validation

After compression:

• All code blocks present and unmodified
• No URLs dropped
• File is valid markdown (headings intact, no broken lists)
• Token count reduced (if not, warn user)

If validation fails: retry compression up to 2 times. If still failing: report error, restore original, do not overwrite.

Output

Compressed <filepath>
Original: ~N tokens → Compressed: ~N tokens (X% reduction)
Backup: <filepath>.original.md