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Trim

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Reduces an always-on LifeOS context file that is over its byte budget via a human-gated pass — deterministic GC of stale entries first, then semantic merges and relocations — never dropping a directive and committing every change reversibly. USE WHEN /trim, trim the context, trim OPERATIONAL_RULES, this file is too big, reduce a doctrine file, context file over budget, file is NN% full, statusline file went red, prune an always-loaded file, shrink CLAUDE.md or DA_IDENTITY. NOT FOR general code refactoring, trimming video/audio (use Video/AudioEditor), or removing AI writing patterns from prose (use _WRITING).

QUICK START

How to use this skill

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Source SKILL.md: https://github.com/danielmiessler/LifeOS/blob/HEAD/LifeOS/install/skills/Trim/SKILL.md

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Trim

Reduce an always-on context file back under its byte budget. This is what you DO when the statusline shows a file at NN% FULL in red: /trim <file> walks the reduction, safest cuts first, never dropping a rule.

Workflow Routing

TriggerWorkflow
/trim <file>, "trim OPERATIONAL_RULES", "this file is too big", "file went red", "reduce a doctrine file"Workflows/Trim.md

Quick Reference

  • Target resolution: a bare name (OPERATIONAL_RULES) resolves against LIFEOS/TOOLS/context-budgets.json. No arg → trim whichever file is worst (bun LIFEOS/TOOLS/BudgetCheck.ts --json → highest %).
  • Order is safest-first: (1) show state, (2) deterministic GC (zero-risk), (3) semantic trims (human-gated), (4) safety gate, (5) re-check budget. Full steps: Workflows/Trim.md.
  • Two tools it orchestrates — never reimplement: LIFEOS/TOOLS/BudgetCheck.ts (bytes/cap/%), LIFEOS/TOOLS/ProposalGC.ts (removes superseded/duplicate/absorbed entries).
  • Three semantic moves: MERGE overlapping rules, TIGHTEN verbose ones, RELOCATE rarely-used detail to an on-demand reference (leave a stub + pointer).
  • The invariant: a trim never drops a distinct directive. If a merge would, keep the original.

Gotchas

  • USER files commit to the USER_DATA repo, not ~/.claude. LIFEOS/USER/** (OPERATIONAL_RULES, PROJECTS, the identity files) is a symlink into a separate private repo. Commit with git -C ~/.config/LIFEOS/USER …. A ~/.claude commit captures nothing under LIFEOS/USER/ — a false safety net.
  • The file can change mid-edit. The autonomic memory loop appends proposals to these files while you work. If a Write/Edit reports "modified since read", RE-READ before writing — a concurrent correction may have landed (this is how a real deploy-command fix was nearly reverted). Never write from a stale read.
  • Semantic merges must never drop a directive. Before applying any merge/tighten, confirm every proper noun, path, tool name, and imperative from the originals survives in the result. If one is missing, the merge is wrong — keep the original. Deterministic GC (superseded/dup/absorbed) is always safe; semantic edits are the risky class.
  • bun/bunx only, never npm/npx.
  • Deterministic first, always. Run ProposalGC before proposing any semantic edit — the free, zero-risk removals often clear enough that no judgment-call edit is needed.

Examples

/trim OPERATIONAL_RULES
# → shows 53.8K/54K (99% FULL) → ProposalGC dry-run (0 removable) → ranks semantic
#   trims (merge 3 overlapping ship-it rules, relocate CF-token doctrine to a reference)
#   → applies approved ones behind the safety gate → commits to USER_DATA → re-checks: 47K/54K (87%)

/trim
# → no arg: BudgetCheck picks the worst file, then the same walkthrough

Execution Log

After completing the workflow, append a single JSONL entry:

echo '{"ts":"'$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)'","skill":"Trim","workflow":"Trim","input":"8_WORD_SUMMARY","status":"ok|error","duration_s":SECONDS}' >> ~/.claude/LIFEOS/MEMORY/SKILLS/execution.jsonl