fit-page-limit

name

fit-page-limit

description

Helps a paper hit its target length: recommends exactly what to compress when it is over the page limit, or what to add with substance when it is too short. Use when a researcher says "I'm over the page limit", "compress my paper", "what should I cut", "trim two pages", "my paper is too long", "help me fit NeurIPS's limit", "my paper is too short", "I have space left, what should I add", or "where is all my length going". Runs a section-by-section length analysis, then gives a prioritized, value-aware plan: which low-value sections to condense or move to an appendix, while protecting contributions, results, and citations, or which thin sections to develop. Never deletes evidence to fit and never pads to fill. Trigger words: page limit, compress, trim, cut down, too long, too short, over the limit, fit the limit, what to cut, what to add.

Fit Page Limit

Two sides of the same problem: a paper that is over the limit and needs careful cuts, or a paper that is under and needs useful substance rather than filler. This skill maps the draft section by section, then gives the author a prioritized plan for whichever direction they need.

It coordinates with polish-prose for sentence-level tightening, refactor-structure for larger reorganization, polish-tables-figures for visual layout, and preflight-check when the page limit comes from a venue rule. Run it after the draft is roughly complete.

When to use

• The draft is over the limit and the author needs to know where the bulk is.
• The draft is under the target length and the author wants to use space well.
• The author asks for a length map: "where is all my length going?"

Inputs

• The .tex source.
• The real compiled page count, if available, to calibrate the estimate.
• The target: a venue page limit or a length the author names.
• The venue CFP or profile, if the target comes from a venue.

Process

1. Map the length. Run the analyzer from this skill directory; do not eyeball where the pages went.

   python3 scripts/section_budget.py paper.tex --target-pages 10 --current-pages 11
   

   It reports per-section words, percentage of the paper, estimated pages, and the over/under gap. --current-pages calibrates words per page to the author's actual compile. Use --json for machine-readable output.

2. Confirm what counts. Re-verify the venue's limit and exclusions against the live CFP before relying on appendix moves or excluded sections. A stale page limit can desk-reject the paper.

3. Pick the right branch. Use references/resize-tactics.md to turn the map into a value-aware resize plan.

If over: compress value-aware, never blind

Rank sections by compressibility x low impact, and cut there first:

• Redundancy: the same point repeated in the intro, method, and conclusion.
• Over-long related work: condense paragraph-per-paper prose into clusters that state only the delta that matters.
• Verbose method/setup: tighten with polish-prose; cut walkthroughs a figure already shows.
• Move, do not delete: push proofs, extra results, or implementation detail to an appendix only when the venue excludes it.
• Figures/tables: resize, merge subfigures, or drop a redundant baseline column with polish-tables-figures.

Protect contributions, headline results, and every citation. Present estimated savings per cut and let the author approve before editing. Never delete a result, claim, or reference to hit a number.

If under: expand with substance

A short, complete paper can be fine; say so. If there is real room to strengthen it, suggest substance: a missing ablation, deeper error analysis, limitations or threats to validity, clearer motivation, a worked example, or a related-work gap. Flag suggestions that would merely pad. Hand drafting to the writing skills.

Output

A length map and prioritized resize plan:

• Over: ranked cut list, estimated savings, and protected material.
• Under: substantive additions ranked by value.

Write durable outputs to the user's local paper-workspace/writing/ directory when a workspace exists. The skill recommends and explains; the author decides and edits.

Guardrails

• Never delete results, claims, or citations to fit.
• Never pad to fill.
• Page numbers are estimates; tell the author to compile and check the real count.
• Re-verify venue limits and exclusions against the live CFP before advising appendix moves.
• Copilot, not pilot: propose the plan; the author approves and edits.

Memory

Uses the shared .paper-memory/ convention documented by paper-profile.

• At start: read lessons.md for recurring overspend patterns, such as "related work always runs long".
• At end: append `date - fit-page-limit - over/under - where the length went
  • what was cut/added` after deduping.
• Create .paper-memory/ on demand in the user's paper directory. It is local only and should usually be ignored by git.