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Compression‐Cheatsheet

Sami Bajwa edited this page Jun 1, 2026 · 1 revision

Compression Cheatsheet

Quick reference for all shorthand patterns. Copy and use directly in any prompt.


Analysis & Review

Task Compressed Form
Analyze something analyze:
Find and fix bugs debug+fix:
Review and improve refine:
Full audit audit:
Critical evaluation critique:
Compare two things compare: A vs B
Pros and cons pros/cons:
Risk assessment risk-assess:
SWOT analysis SWOT:
Find gaps or missing parts gaps:

Writing & Content

Task Compressed Form
Blog post blog-post:
Email email:
Professional message draft-msg:
Social media caption caption:
Headlines (5 options) headlines(5):
Product description product-desc:
Rewrite formally rewrite: formal
Make shorter compress:
Simplify language simplify:
Match a tone tone: [X]

Code

Task Compressed Form
Write a function fn:
Debug and explain fix debug+explain:
Refactor for cleanliness refactor:
Add error handling add: error-handling
Convert language convert: X→Y
Write unit tests tests:
Optimize for speed optimize: speed
Add comments add: comments
Build complete feature build: [X] ([stack])
Fix specific error fix: [error]

Summarization

Task Compressed Form
Key points summary summarize:
Extract important info extract: key-info
Main takeaways takeaways:
Action items only action-items:
Statistics and numbers extract: stats
Named entities extract: entities
One paragraph summarize: 1-para
One sentence summarize: 1-sentence
Bullet notes notes:

Research & Explanation

Task Compressed Form
Simple explanation explain: simple
Beginner explanation explain: ELI5
Technical deep dive explain: technical
What is X and how it works what+how: X
Background context context:
Overview overview:
Common mistakes mistakes:
Step by step guide steps:

Generation & Ideation

Task Compressed Form
10 ideas ideas(10):
Options list options:
Brainstorm brainstorm:
Template template:
Checklist checklist:
Framework framework:
Variations (3 options) variations(3):

Quantity Modifiers

Modifier Meaning
(3) Exactly 3 results
max: 5 No more than 5
top-3 Best 3 only
1-liner One sentence only
brief Short form
detailed Full depth

Domain Prefixes

Prime Claude for domain-specific language without lengthy setup:

legal: review this contract clause
medical: explain this lab result simply
finance: analyze this P&L
marketing: improve this landing page copy
tech: explain this architecture decision
hr: draft a performance review for

Power Formula

The fastest way to improve any prompt:

[ROLE (1 line)] + [TASK (compressed)] + [FORMAT (explicit)] + [CONSTRAINTS (negative)]

Example — 34 tokens:

You are a copywriter. Write 3 email subject lines for a SaaS launch.
Format: numbered list. No explanations. Max 10 words each.

This replaces a typical 120+ token prompt for the same output quality.

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