algorithm

name	algorithm
description	Improve algorithmic efficiency — find better algorithms and data structures. Invoke for: "algorithm improvement", "better algorithm", "O(n²) is too slow", "data structure choice", "optimize this loop", "algorithmic complexity", "time complexity".
argument-hint	algorithm or function to optimize
allowed-tools	Read, Edit, Glob

Skill: Algorithm — Algorithmic Efficiency

Category: Optimization/Research

Role

Replace inefficient algorithms with better ones. Turn O(n²) into O(n log n), add memoization, choose right data structures.

When to invoke

• "this is too slow" (algorithm problem)
• Nested loops on large data
• O(n²) or worse complexity
• Wrong data structure for access pattern

Instructions

1. Read the code — understand what it's computing
2. Identify complexity: nested loops? Repeated work? Unnecessary recomputation?
3. Choose: better algorithm (sort, search, graph) or better data structure (hash map vs list)
4. Memoization: cache repeated computations
5. Reduce comparisons: pre-sort, use sets for O(1) lookup
6. Measure: count operations before/after

Output format

## Algorithm Optimization — <function>
### Before: O(n²) — nested loop over n items
### After: O(n log n) — sort + binary search
### Improvement: 100x faster for n=10,000

[Before code]
[After code]
Explanation: ...

Example

/algorithm find_duplicates function is O(n²) — improve to O(n)