/ase-task-condense

name: ase-task-condense
argument-hint: "[--help|-h] [--next|-n <option>[,...]] [<id>]"
description: >
    Condense the current or given task plan by compressing its wording.
    Use when the user calls to "condense", "compress", "shrink" or
    "shorten" the "task", "plan", "spec", or "specification".
user-invocable: true
disable-model-invocation: false
effort: high

@${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-control.md @${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-skill.md @${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-dialog.md @${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-getopt.md

<purpose name="ase-task-condense"> Condense a Task Plan </purpose>

<expand name="getopt" arg1="ase-task-condense" arg2="--next|-n=(none|DONE|EDIT|IMPLEMENT|PREFLIGHT)..."> $ARGUMENTS </expand>

<objective> *Condense* the task plan by removing fluff while preserving all semantics exactly. </objective>

@${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-format-task.md @${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-common-task.md

Procedure ---------

<define name="handoff-args"> Set <args></args> (set args to empty). <if condition="the condensed plan was saved via `ase_task_save` in step 3"> Set <args>--int-reuse-task</args>. </if> <if condition="<getopt-option-next/> is not equal `none`"> Set <args><args/> --next <getopt-option-next/></args> </if> </define>

1. **Determine Task:**

1. Set <id><getopt-arguments/></id> initially. Inherit the always existing <ase-task-id/> from the current context. Inherit the always existing <ase-session-id/> from the current context. Do not output anything.

2. React on task id:

1. <if condition=" <id/> matches the regexp `^[a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z0-9_-]*$` "> Set <ase-task-id><id/></ase-task-id> (set task id) and call the `ase_task_id(id: "<ase-task-id/>", session: "<ase-session-id/>")` tool from the `ase` MCP server to switch the task, and then only output the following <template/>:

<template> ⧉ **ASE**: ◉ task: **<ase-task-id/>**, ▶ status: **task given** </template> </if>

2. <elseif condition="<id/> is NOT empty"> The argument is neither empty nor a valid task id. As this skill only accepts an optional `[<id>]` argument and *never* a free-text instruction, only output the following <template/> and then immediately *STOP* processing the entire current skill:

<template> ⧉ **ASE**: ☻ skill: **ase-task-condense**, ▶ ERROR: expected single `[<id>]` argument </template> </elseif>

2. **Determine Operation:**

1. Call the `ase_task_load(id: "<ase-task-id/>")` tool of the `ase` MCP server to load the current task plan content and set <text/> to the `text` output field of the `ase_task_load` tool call.

• If <text/> starts with `ERROR:` or `WARNING:`:

Silently ignore the MCP error. Set <task-content></task-content> (set task content to empty). Set <words/> to "0".

• If <text/> starts NOT with `ERROR:` and NOT with `WARNING:`:

Set <task-content><text/></task-content> (set task content to text). Calculate the number of words <words/> of <task-content/>.

Set <words-before><words/></words-before> (remember the loaded word count for the strictly-smaller check in step 3).

<if condition="<task-content/> contains '⎈ Created: <text/>'"> Set <timestamp-created><text/></timestamp-created> (extract the original creation timestamp so it can be re-inserted unchanged into the condensed <task-content/> in step 3). </if>

Only output the following <template/>:

<template> ⧉ **ASE**: ◉ task: **<ase-task-id/>**, ✪ plan: **<words/>** words, ▶ status: **plan loaded** </template>

2. <if condition="<task-content/> is empty"> Complain and tell the user to use the `ase-code-resolve`, `ase-code-refactor`, `ase-code-craft`, or `ase-task-edit` skills first to create a task plan. Then immediately stop processing this skill. </if>

3. **Condense Task Plan:**

1. *Apply the condense ruleset* to <task-content/>, producing a shorter <task-content/>. The goal is to make the plan require as *little reading* as possible while all semantics remain *fully preserved and unchanged*. Honor the following ruleset *strictly*:

1. *Preserve-exactly (never alter)*: the plan <format/> structure (the headings `#`/`##`, all three `## CONTEXT`, `## CHANGES`, and `## VERIFICATION` sections, the `Created:`/`Modified:` lines, and the `- **<aspect/>**:` bullet labels), all *code spans* and code blocks, technical terms, file paths, identifiers, numbers, severities (`LOW`/`MEDIUM`/`HIGH`/`ACCEPTED`), and the `*<aspect/>*` emphasis highlighting convention.

2. *Compress free-text only* (the `**WHAT**`/`**WHY**` prose and each bullet's `<specification/>` text):

• *Drop* filler ("just", "really", "basically", "simply"),

pleasantries, and hedging ("I think", "maybe", "perhaps").

• *Use* shorter synonyms and common abbreviations.
• *Use* `→` for causality and `-` for short subsequent facts.
• *Drop* articles ("a", "an", "the") and *replace*

conjunctions with short separate clauses where this shortens the text without introducing ambiguity.

• *Re-wrap* the shortened free-text to the ~100-character-

per-line convention of the plan <format/>, but *never* break a line *inside* an inline code span.

• *Merge* genuinely-redundant bullets (the same aspect