cheaploop skill

SKILL.md

name	cheaploop
description	Compact a running context into `fable.md`, then send the rewritten prompt onward with `cheaploop` disabled by `cheaploop stop`. Use when a session is getting expensive, when you want a repeatable compress-then-send loop, or when browser/Chrome work should stay on the cheapest available model path.

Cheaploop

Use this skill when a prompt needs one compact pass before it is sent onward.

Core loop

1. Read the current conversation and any local project docs that matter.
2. Compress the prompt into a shorter, cleaner form.
3. Write the compressed handoff to fable.md.
4. Send only the compacted prompt onward.

Rules

• Keep the rewritten prompt focused on the active task.
• Preserve facts, constraints, file paths, and verification criteria.
• Drop repetition, brainstorming debris, and stale context.
• Treat cheaploop stop as a hard bypass: no compression, no fable.md rewrite, no extra routing.
• Keep browser/Chrome work on the cheapest available model or lightest viable path.
• Never route Chrome work through the expensive Fable-style context loop unless the task explicitly requires it.

fable.md contract

Record the handoff in fable.md before the downstream prompt is sent.

Minimum fields:

• source prompt
• compacted prompt
• why content was dropped
• any browser/Chrome routing decision
• rough before/after size

Install guidance

When installing this skill in another workspace:

• add the skill folder under that workspace's Claude skills directory
• add a project note in that workspace's CLAUDE.md saying browser/Chrome work should use the cheapest available model path
• keep cheaploop stop as the explicit bypass phrase

Verification

Use a small fixture set:

• short prompt
• context-heavy prompt
• stale-context prompt
• cheaploop stop prompt

Pass criteria:

• the compacted prompt is shorter
• critical facts survive
• stale facts are removed
• stop bypasses compression
• Chrome routing stays separated from the expensive loop

verification.md

Cheaploop Verification

Test the skill as a compression layer, not as a one-off prompt rewrite.

Baseline

• Send the same task directly.
• Record the exact prompt length and output.

Cheaploop run

• Run the task through cheaploop.
• Confirm fable.md exists and records the transformation.
• Confirm the rewritten prompt is meaningfully shorter.

Quality checks

• Did the answer still satisfy the original task?
• Were file paths, constraints, and stop conditions preserved?
• Were stale details removed?

Chrome routing check

• If the task touches Chrome or browser control, verify the browser path stays on the cheapest available model or lightest available path.
• Verify the expensive context loop is not reused for browser control unless explicitly required.

Stop check

• Run a prompt that includes cheaploop stop.
• Verify no compression occurs and no fable.md handoff is written.