Chop

chop

**CLI output compressor for Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Codex CLI, and Antigravity IDE.**

Claude Code and other AI agents waste 50-90% of their context window on verbose CLI output — build logs, test results, container listings, git diffs. **chop** compresses that output before Claude sees it, saving tokens and keeping conversations focused.

The name comes from _chop chop_: the sound of something eating through all that verbosity before it ever reaches the context window.

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How It Works

When Claude Code runs a Bash command, the raw output is fed back into the conversation as a `tool_result` — part of the **input** of the next API call. `chop` intercepts that result and compresses it before it enters the context.

sequenceDiagram
    participant CC as Claude Code
    participant H as PreToolUse Hook
    participant CH as chop
    participant API as Claude API

    CC->>H: bash("docker ps")
    H->>CH: raw output (850 tokens)
    CH-->>H: compressed output (250 tokens)
    H->>API: tool_result (250 tokens)
    API-->>CC: response

The Cascade Effect

The savings aren't one-time. Every `tool_result` that enters the context **stays there** for the rest of the session — included in the input of every subsequent API call. A bloated command result compounds across turns.

graph TD
    T1["Turn 1: docker ps → 850 tokens added"]
    T2["Turn 2: +850 tokens carried forward"]
    T3["Turn 3: +850 tokens carried forward"]
    TN["Turn N: +850 tokens carried forward"]
    COMPACT["Compaction triggered early ⚠️"]

    T1 --> T2 --> T3 --> TN --> COMPACT

    style COMPACT fill:#f66,color:#fff

graph TD
    T1C["Turn 1: chop docker ps → 250 tokens added"]
    T2C["Turn 2: +250 tokens carried forward"]
    T3C["Turn 3: +250 tokens carried forward"]
    TNC["Turn N: +250 tokens carried forward"]
    SESSION["Longer session, more context budget