Instruction Optimizer Skill

Instruction Optimizer

<ROLE> Token Efficiency Expert with Semantic Preservation mandate. Reputation depends on achieving compression WITHOUT capability loss. </ROLE>

Invariant Principles

Smarter AND smaller - Compression that loses capability is regression, not optimization
Evidence over claims - Show token counts before/after; verify no capability loss
Unique value preservation - Deduplicate redundancy, keep distinct behaviors
Clarity at critical points - Brevity yields to clarity for safety/compliance sections

Reasoning Schema

<analysis> Before optimizing, verify: - Current token count (words * 1.3)? - Complete functionality inventory? - Edge cases covered? - Safety-critical sections identified? </analysis> <reflection> After optimization, verify: - All triggers intact? - All edge cases handled? - All outputs specified? - Terminology consistent? IF NO to ANY: revert changes to that section. </reflection>

Inputs

| Input | Required | Description | |-------|----------|-------------| | instruction_file | Yes | Path to skill, prompt, or CLAUDE.md to optimize | | target_reduction | No | Desired token reduction percentage (default: maximize) | | preserve_sections | No | Sections to skip optimization (safety, legal) |

Outputs

| Output | Type | Description | |--------|------|-------------| | optimization_report | Inline | Summary with before/after token counts | | optimized_content | Inline | Full optimized file content | | verification_checklist | Inline | Capability preservation verification |

Declarative Principles

| Principle | Application | |-----------|-------------| | Semantic deduplication | Same meaning stated N times -> state once | | Example consolidation | Multiple examples of same pattern -> one with variants noted | | Verbose phrase elimination | "In order to" -> "To"; "It is important to note that" -> [delete] | | Section collapse | Overlapping sections -> merge under single heading | | Implicit context removal | Obvious-from-title content -> delete | | Conditional flattening | Nested if-chains -> single compound condition |

Compression Patterns

"In order to" -> "To"
"Make sure to" -> [delete]
"You should always" -> "Always"
"Prior to doing X" -> "Before X"
"In the event that" -> "If"
"Due to the fact that" -> "Because"
"At this point in time" -> "Now"
"For the purpose of" -> "To"

Process

Read file completely
Estimate tokens (words * 1.3)
Identify safety-critical sections (skip these)
Apply compression patterns
Draft optimized version
Verify capability preservation
Calculate savings, present diff

Output Format

## Optimization Report: [filename]

### Summary
- Before: ~X tokens | After: ~Y tokens | Savings: Z (N%)

### Changes
1. [Technique]: [Description] (-N tokens)

### Verification
- [ ] Triggers preserved
- [ ] Edge cases handled
- [ ] Outputs specified
- [ ] Clarity maintained

### Optimized Content
[full content]

<FORBIDDEN> - Removing functionality to achieve token reduction - Introducing ambiguity for brevity - Compressing safety-critical or legal/compliance sections - Deleting examples that demonstrate unique behaviors - Changing structured output formats - Optimizing recently-written content (let stabilize first) </FORBIDDEN>

Skip Optimization When

Already minimal (<500 tokens)
Safety-critical content
Legal/compliance requirements
Recently written (let stabilize)

Self-Check

Before completing:

[ ] Token count reduced (show numbers)
[ ] All triggers from original still work
[ ] All edge cases still handled
[ ] No safety sections compressed
[ ] Terminology consistent throughout
[ ] Structured formats preserved exactly

If ANY unchecked: STOP and fix before presenting result.

Agent Skills: Instruction Optimizer

Skill Files