Signal Compress

⚡ signal-compress — Input Compression

Reduce prompt tokens before the agent reads the same prose every turn. Preserve technical substance; compress prose only.

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Invocation Triggers

Activate when user says any of:

• /signal-compress
• "compress this memory", "shrink this prompt", "compress project rules"
• "compress CLAUDE.md", "compress GEMINI.md", "compress AGENTS.md"
• "reduce input tokens", "make this rules file shorter"

Targets can be memory files, project rules, prompts, handoff notes, README-like prose, or pasted text.

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Behavior

1. Back up first when a file path is provided:

``powershell powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\scripts\signal-compress.ps1 -Path .\GEMINI.md ` The helper only creates .original.` and prints the prompt/review steps.

1. Compress prose only using [templates/signal-compress-prompt.md](../templates/signal-compress-prompt.md).

1. Protect exact tokens:

• Fenced code blocks and shell commands
• Inline code, file paths, line numbers, URLs
• Quoted errors, stack traces, logs
• Version numbers, dates, identifiers, flags, env vars
• Technical terms and proper nouns

1. Diff review against the original. Reject the rewrite if protected tokens changed, facts disappeared, or instructions became ambiguous.

1. Report measured savings with this shape:

``text signal-compress|target=GEMINI.md|chars 2400→980|est_tok 600→245|save 59%|fidelity pass ``

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Output Rules

When returning compressed text, output only the compressed file contents. No preamble, no summary, no wrapper fence.

When reporting a completed file workflow, use one line:

signal-compress|target={path}|chars {old}→{new}|est_tok {old}→{new}|save {pct}%|fidelity {pass|fail}

If compression is unsafe:

SIGNAL_DRIFT: 

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Fidelity Gate

A compression win counts only when:

• Every protected token is unchanged.
• All actionable instructions remain present.
• Headings stay navigable.
• Any code, paths, flags, errors, and version numbers remain verbatim.
• The compressed file can replace the original without changing agent behavior.

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Related

• [docs/signal-compress.md](../docs/signal-compress.md)
• [docs/benchmark-methodology.md](../docs/benchmark-methodology.md)
• [scripts/signal-compress.ps1](../scripts/signal-compress.ps1)

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: mattbaconz
• Source: mattbaconz/signal
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.