slim-shady 0.1.4

Shrink AI-agent command output to save tokens (git + npm, Windows)

slim-shady

Install as slim-shady; the command you run is slim.

Shrink AI-agent command output so it burns fewer tokens.

When an AI coding assistant runs git status or npm install, the raw output can be hundreds of lines — and every line costs tokens, money, and context-window space. slim runs the command, compresses the output (keeping what matters, dropping the noise), and returns the compact version. Same information, ~70–90% fewer tokens.

Windows · works with git and npm · integrates with Claude Code

$ slim git status
branch: main
summary: 0 staged, 1 modified, 3 untracked
modified (1):
  M src/app.py
untracked (3):
  README.md  LICENSE  tests/
[slim: hid ~58 tokens - run 'slim expand' for full output]

Install

With pip

pip install slim-shady

Gives you the slim command (plus tiktoken for real token counts).

Or download the .exe (no Python needed)

1. Grab slim.exe from the latest release.
2. Put it in a folder on your PATH.
3. Run slim git status. (You only need git/npm installed — the tools it wraps.)

Quick start

slim init -g          # turn on automatic mode for all projects (see below)
slim git status       # try it manually
slim gain             # see how many tokens you've saved
slim doctor           # check everything is wired up

Make it automatic (recommended)

Typing slim every time is annoying. slim init installs a Claude Code hook so your agent's git/npm commands are compressed automatically — when it runs git status, it's transparently rewritten to slim git status.

slim init       # this project only
slim init -g    # all projects (global ~/.claude settings)

Restart Claude Code afterwards. See hooks/README.md for details and manual setup.

Commands

slim git <args>     run git, return compressed output
slim npm <args>     run npm, return compressed output
slim expand         print the full output of the last slim command
slim gain           savings dashboard (tokens saved, by tool, biggest)
slim reset          clear saved stats
slim doctor         health check: PATH, hook, tokenizer, tools
slim init [-g]      install the Claude Code auto-rewrite hook (-g = global)
slim --version      print version
slim --raw git ...  debug: show before/after + % saved

How it works

1. slim dispatches to a per-tool filter that understands that command's output.
2. Each filter applies four strategies:
   • filter — drop noise (ANSI colors, progress bars, npm http/timing lines)
   • group — e.g. untracked files grouped by directory
   • truncate — keep the head/tail of long blocks, hide the redundant middle
   • dedupe — collapse repeated lines into line (xN)
3. For git, known subcommands re-run a compact native variant (--porcelain, --oneline, --stat). For npm, the command runs once (installs/tests have side effects) and the captured output is compressed.
4. Errors, failures, warnings and summaries are always kept. Anything hidden is recoverable with slim expand.

How tokens are counted

slim measures savings by tokenizing text locally — no API calls during normal use:

saved = count(raw output) - count(compressed output)

• Both the .exe and the pip install count with tiktoken, a real tokenizer. The .exe bundles tiktoken's vocab so it works fully offline.
• tiktoken uses GPT's vocabulary — a close proxy for Claude, usually within a few percent, not exact. That's why counts are labelled ~.
• A ~4 chars/token estimate remains only as a crash-safety fallback; slim doctor shows which counter is active.

Build the .exe yourself

build.bat        # produces dist\slim.exe (bundles tiktoken, fully offline)

Scope & limitations

• Windows, git + npm only (more commands planned).
• tiktoken approximates Claude's tokenizer, so counts aren't Claude-exact (~).
• Some Unicode glyphs (e.g. ✓) can be mangled by the Windows console; failures and summaries are always preserved.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.