About compress
compress is a writing skill for shortening information and instructions while preserving meaning. It guides agents through extracting requirements, removing repetition, and checking that edits do not change interpretation.
Key features
- 01Identify purpose and intended reader
- 02Retain constraints, facts, and edge cases
- 03Remove repetition and unnecessary structure
- 04Check edits against the source
Use cases
- 01Shorten procedural instructions
- 02Condense notes without losing requirements
- 03Edit guidance while preserving exceptions
Install
Copy the command and run it in a terminal.
npx skills add https:/ / github.com/ owainlewis/ agent-skills --skill compressAfter installing, type/compressin Claude Code to confirm it loaded.
Bundled filesagents/openai.yaml
Details
From the project READMECompress
Shorten the input without losing meaning.
Use this for information and instructions, not ordinary prose polishing. Use deslop when voice and writing quality are the main problem.
Process
- Identify the purpose and intended reader or agent.
- Extract the required content: facts, actions, inputs, outputs, constraints, defaults, examples, edge cases, checks, and stop conditions.
- Remove repetition, throat-clearing, backstory, generic advice, motivational language, and structure that does not change understanding or behaviour.
- Replace vague phrases with a concrete instruction only when the source supports it. Otherwise cut them.
- Merge overlapping rules and place each fact once, where the reader needs it.
- Rewrite in plain words and the smallest structure that preserves the logic.
- Compare the result with the source. Restore anything whose removal changes the likely interpretation or outcome.
Keep
- facts, numbers, names, paths, commands, schemas, and citations
- explicit scope, priorities, and exceptions
- requirements created by past failures
- defaults that resolve real ambiguity
- examples that define a format or expose an edge case
- verification, failure behaviour, and stop conditions
- useful voice when compressing a brain dump or note
Cut
- repeated goals, summaries, and conclusions
- obvious preambles and narration about the document
- baseline advice such as "be thorough" or "use good judgement"
- adjectives such as "robust," "polished," and "production-ready" without a test
- hedging that does not change confidence or responsibility
- examples that merely repeat the rule
- headings, bullets, or steps that add shape but no meaning
- synonyms for a term already named clearly
Test every cut
Ask: if this disappears, could a capable reader act differently or lose a fact, limit, decision, warning, or piece of voice?
If no, cut it. If yes, keep it or rewrite it more clearly.
Return only the compressed result unless the user asks for a summary of changes.