Cheapskate Skill

Cheapskate Skill

Trit: -1 (MINUS - validator/​constrainer) Purpose: Minimize Amp thread costs through token efficiency

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Core Principles

1. Token Conservation

• Terse responses: 1-3 sentences unless detail requested
• No preamble/​postamble: Skip "I'll help you with..." and summaries
• Code over prose: Show code, not explanations
• Links over content: Reference files, don't paste them

2. Tool Call Efficiency

• Parallel reads: Batch independent Read/​Grep calls
• Targeted searches: Use glob patterns, not broad scans
• Single-pass edits: Plan before editing, don't iterate
• Skip redundant checks: Trust previous results

3. Subagent Economics

• Task tool for isolation: Heavy work in subagents (tokens not returned)
• Bounded prompts: Subagent prompts < 500 tokens
• No round-trips: Give subagents full context upfront
• Kill early: Cancel subagents if direction changes

4. Context Window Management

• Skill loading: Only load skills when needed
• File excerpts: Read ranges, not full files
• Summarize large outputs: Truncate verbose tool results
• Avoid re-reading: Cache file contents mentally

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Anti-Patterns (Token Wasters)

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Efficient Patterns

File Operations

# Bad: Read full 2000-line file
Read("/​path/​to/​big.py")

# Good: Read relevant section
Read("/​path/​to/​big.py", [100, 150])

# Better: Grep first, then targeted read
Grep("def target_function", path="/​path/​to/​big.py")
Read("/​path/​to/​big.py", [142, 165])

Parallel Execution

# Bad: Sequential
Read(file1) → Read(file2) → Read(file3)

# Good: Parallel (single message, 3 tool calls)
Read(file1) | Read(file2) | Read(file3)

Subagent Dispatch

# Bad: Heavy work in main thread (tokens visible)
[read 10 files, analyze, generate report]

# Good: Subagent isolation (only summary returned)
Task("Analyze 10 files, return 3-line summary")

Response Length

# Bad (47 tokens)
"I'll help you implement that feature. Let me start by 
examining the codebase to understand the current architecture,
then I'll make the necessary changes..."

# Good (3 tokens)
[starts making changes]

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Cost Estimation Heuristics

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Cheapskate Checklist

Before responding:

• Can I answer in < 3 sentences?
• Are all tool calls parallelized?
• Am I reading only what's needed?
• Should this be a subagent (isolated tokens)?
• Did I skip the preamble?
• Did I skip the summary?

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GF(3) Integration

As MINUS (-1) validator:

• Constrains token expenditure
• Validates efficiency of other skills
• Balances PLUS generators (which produce tokens)

Σ(generator_tokens) + Σ(validator_savings) ≡ 0 (mod 3)

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Commands

# Analyze thread token usage
just cheapskate-analyze <thread-id>

# Estimate remaining budget
just cheapskate-budget

# Compress context
just cheapskate-compress

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See Also

• parallel-fanout - Efficient parallel dispatch
• triad-interleave - Balanced token streams
• frustration-eradication - Don't waste tokens on frustration

Scientific Skill Interleaving

This skill connects to the K-Dense-AI/​claude-scientific-skills ecosystem:

Graph Theory

• networkx [○] via bicomodule
  • Universal graph hub

Bibliography References

• general: 734 citations in bib.duckdb

SDF Interleaving

This skill connects to Software Design for Flexibility (Hanson & Sussman, 2021):

Primary Chapter: 10. Adventure Game Example

Concepts: autonomous agent, game, synthesis

GF(3) Balanced Triad

cheapskate (+) + SDF.Ch10 (+) + [balancer] (+) = 0

Skill Trit: 1 (PLUS - generation)

Secondary Chapters

• Ch9: Generic Procedures
• Ch4: Pattern Matching
• Ch8: Degeneracy

Connection Pattern

Adventure games synthesize techniques. This skill integrates multiple patterns.

Cat# Integration

This skill maps to Cat# = Comod(P) as a bicomodule in the equipment structure:

Trit: 0 (ERGODIC)
Home: Prof
Poly Op: ⊗
Kan Role: Adj
Color: #26D826

GF(3) Naturality

The skill participates in triads satisfying:

(-1) + (0) + (+1) ≡ 0 (mod 3)

This ensures compositional coherence in the Cat# equipment structure.