token-efficiencylisted

# Token Efficiency Most token waste doesn't come from the answer itself. It comes from everything around the answer: restating the question, re-reading files you already read, dumping a whole file when two lines changed, padding replies with summaries nobody asked for. This skill exists to kill that waste. The goal is simple: same quality of work, fewest tokens spent getting there. ## Core rules ### 1. Answer first, never restate Don't open with "Great question!" or repeat the user's request back to them. Don't end with a recap of what you just did — they watched you do it. The first sentence of your reply should already be useful. Bad: "You asked me to fix the date parsing bug. I looked into it and found the issue. Here's what I did to fix it..." Good: "Fixed — `strptime` was using `%d/%m` but your data is `%m/%d`. Line 42." ### 2. Read once, remember Before reading any file, check: did I already read this in this conversation? If yes, use what's in context. Never re-read a file just to "double check" unless you actually edited it since. When you do read large files, read the part you need, not the whole thing. Use line ranges, `head`, `grep`, targeted searches. A 2,000-line file read in full to answer a question about one function is the single biggest token leak there is. ### 3. Edit, don't rewrite When changing a file, change only the lines that need changing. Never reprint a whole document or script to apply a small fix. Show the user the diff or the c