iceage

Make AI coding agents terse, precise, and token-efficient.

Less filler. Same technical depth. Lower token usage.

Features · Installation · AI Agents · Modes · Commands · Benchmarks

What is Iceage?

Iceage is a lightweight prompt and agent-style optimization toolkit that makes AI coding assistants communicate in compressed, technical, high-signal prose.

Modern AI coding agents often spend a surprising number of tokens on:

Pleasantries
Repeated explanations
Filler words
Hedging
Redundant context
Long-form explanations when a short technical answer is enough

Iceage removes that overhead while preserving the information that matters.

Before

"Sure! I'd be happy to help you with that. The issue you're experiencing is most likely caused by the fact that you're creating a new object reference on every render, which React interprets as a changed prop even though the values are the same. To resolve this, you should wrap the object in a useMemo hook."

After

"New object ref each render. Inline object prop = new ref = re-render. Wrap in useMemo."

Same diagnosis. Same fix. Significantly fewer tokens.

Iceage is designed specifically for developers who use AI coding agents throughout the day and want less conversational overhead without sacrificing technical accuracy.

Why Iceage?

AI agents are powerful, but their default communication style is often optimized for general conversation rather than high-frequency software engineering.

Iceage changes the communication layer.

Normal AI Agent
      │
      ▼
Long explanations
Pleasantries
Hedging
Repetition
      │
      ▼
     Iceage
      │
      ▼
Compressed technical response
      │
      ├── Less filler
      ├── Fewer tokens
      ├── Faster scanning
      └── Same technical substance

The goal is simple:

Remove words. Keep meaning.

Features

Feature	Description
Terse AI responses	Removes filler, pleasantries, unnecessary articles, and hedging
Token-efficient communication	Compresses natural-language responses while preserving technical meaning
6 intensity levels	Choose between `lite`, `full`, `ultra`, and Wenyan modes
Automatic clarity fallback	Returns to normal communication for security warnings, destructive operations, or ambiguous situations
Session persistence	Keeps Iceage active across turns and context compression
Claude Code hooks	Automatically activates Iceage and tracks the current mode
Claude Code skills	Provides `/iceage`, `/iceage-review`, `/iceage-commit`, and more
Cursor rules	Always-on Iceage rules for Cursor
Windsurf rules	Always-on Iceage rules for Windsurf
Cline support	Workspace-level `.clinerules` integration
GitHub Copilot support	Repository-level Copilot instructions
Gemini CLI support	Project-level `GEMINI.md` integration
Code review mode	Generates concise, actionable review comments
Commit mode	Generates terse Conventional Commit messages
Markdown compression	Compress existing Markdown documentation while preserving structure
Statusline indicator	Shows the current Iceage mode directly in Claude Code

Installation

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/pomagrenate/iceage.git
cd iceage

Then install Iceage for the AI coding agent you use.

Supported AI Coding Agents

Claude Code

Claude Code has the deepest Iceage integration through:

Hooks
Skills
Commands
Project rules
Statusline integration

1. Install Hooks

Hooks automatically activate Iceage when a Claude Code session starts.

macOS / Linux

bash hooks/install.sh

Windows PowerShell

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File hooks\install.ps1

The installer:

Copies hooks into ~/.claude/hooks/
Registers SessionStart
Registers UserPromptSubmit
Configures the [ICEAGE] statusline badge
Backs up your existing settings.json

Uninstall

macOS / Linux

bash hooks/uninstall.sh

Windows PowerShell

.\hooks\uninstall.ps1

Requirement

Node.js must be available:

node --version

2. Install Claude Code Skills

Iceage provides slash commands for Claude Code.

Available skills:

/iceage
/iceage-review
/iceage-commit
/iceage-help

macOS / Linux

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/iceage \
         ~/.claude/skills/iceage-review \
         ~/.claude/skills/iceage-commit \
         ~/.claude/skills/iceage-help

cp skills/iceage/SKILL.md \
   ~/.claude/skills/iceage/SKILL.md

cp skills/iceage-review/SKILL.md \
   ~/.claude/skills/iceage-review/SKILL.md

cp skills/iceage-commit/SKILL.md \
   ~/.claude/skills/iceage-commit/SKILL.md

cp skills/iceage-help/SKILL.md \
   ~/.claude/skills/iceage-help/SKILL.md

Windows PowerShell

$d = "$env:USERPROFILE\.claude\skills"

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force `
  "$d\iceage",
  "$d\iceage-review",
  "$d\iceage-commit",
  "$d\iceage-help"

Copy-Item skills\iceage\SKILL.md `
  "$d\iceage\SKILL.md"

Copy-Item skills\iceage-review\SKILL.md `
  "$d\iceage-review\SKILL.md"

Copy-Item skills\iceage-commit\SKILL.md `
  "$d\iceage-commit\SKILL.md"

Copy-Item skills\iceage-help\SKILL.md `
  "$d\iceage-help\SKILL.md"

Restart Claude Code.

Then type / in the chat input to see the available Iceage commands.

3. Install Claude Code Commands

Commands are an alternative to Claude Code skills.

macOS / Linux

mkdir -p ~/.claude/commands
cp commands/*.toml ~/.claude/commands/

Windows PowerShell

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force "$env:USERPROFILE\.claude\commands"
Copy-Item commands\*.toml "$env:USERPROFILE\.claude\commands\"

You can use commands alongside skills or instead of them.

4. Enable Iceage Per Project

If you want Iceage automatically enabled for a specific project without using global hooks:

mkdir -p .claude/rules
cp rules/iceage-activate.md .claude/rules/iceage-activate.md

Claude Code automatically loads .claude/rules/*.md as project context.

Cursor

Iceage can run as an always-on Cursor rule.

mkdir -p .cursor/rules
cp .cursor/rules/iceage.mdc .cursor/rules/iceage.mdc

You can also install the rule globally:

~/.cursor/rules/

The rule uses:

alwaysApply: true

This activates Iceage automatically for Cursor sessions.

Windsurf

Install the Iceage rule:

mkdir -p .windsurf/rules
cp .windsurf/rules/iceage.md .windsurf/rules/iceage.md

The rule uses:

trigger: always_on

No manual activation is required.

Cline

Install Iceage into your workspace:

mkdir -p .clinerules
cp .clinerules/iceage.md .clinerules/iceage.md

Cline automatically discovers .clinerules/*.md files in the workspace root.

GitHub Copilot

Install the repository-level Copilot instructions:

mkdir -p .github
cp .github/copilot-instructions.md .github/copilot-instructions.md

Alternatively, append the contents of:

rules/iceage-activate.md

to your existing:

.github/copilot-instructions.md

Gemini CLI

Copy the Iceage context file into your project:

cp GEMINI.md /path/to/your/project/GEMINI.md

Alternatively, append the contents of:

rules/iceage-activate.md

to your existing GEMINI.md.

Other AI Coding Agents

Iceage can also work with other AI coding assistants that support system prompts, rule files, or project instructions.

Use the following core rules:

Respond terse like smart mammoth hunter. All technical substance stay. Only fluff die.

Drop: articles, filler (just/really/basically), pleasantries, hedging.

Fragments OK. Short synonyms. Technical terms exact. Code unchanged.

Pattern: [thing] [action] [reason]. [next step].

Stop: "stop iceage" or "normal mode".

Then activate it with:

/iceage

Modes

Iceage supports multiple communication intensity levels.

Switch modes at any time during a conversation.

/iceage lite
/iceage
/iceage ultra
/iceage wenyan

Lite

Tight writing while keeping complete sentences.

Connection pooling reuses open connections instead of creating new ones per request. Avoids repeated handshake overhead.

Full

Default Iceage mode.

Pool reuse open DB connections. No new connection per request. Skip handshake overhead.

Ultra

Maximum compression.

Pool = reuse DB conn. Skip handshake → fast under load.

Wenyan

Classical Chinese compression mode.

池復用連線。不每請求新開。故速。

Response Compression Example

Normal

Sure! I'd be happy to help you understand this issue.

The reason this happens is that you're creating a new object reference on every render. React sees that the reference has changed, even if the actual values inside the object remain the same.

To fix this issue, you can use the useMemo hook to memoize the object and prevent a new reference from being created on every render.

Iceage

New object ref each render.

Inline object prop = new ref → React sees changed prop → re-render.

Use `useMemo` to stabilize the reference.

The technical meaning stays.

The unnecessary prose disappears.

Commands

Command	Description
`/iceage`	Activate full mode
`/iceage lite`	Activate lite mode
`/iceage ultra`	Activate ultra mode
`/iceage wenyan`	Activate Wenyan mode
`stop iceage`	Disable Iceage
`normal mode`	Return to normal communication
`/iceage-commit`	Generate a terse Conventional Commit message
`/iceage-review`	Generate concise code review comments
`/iceage-help`	Display the Iceage quick reference
`/iceage:compress <file>`	Compress a Markdown file

Natural language activation also works:

activate iceage
talk like iceage
turn off iceage

iceage-compress

iceage-compress compresses existing Markdown documentation into Iceage's concise writing style.

It preserves important document structure, including:

Headings
Code blocks
URLs

The compressor also validates the result and retries when necessary.

With backup

go run ./skills/compress/go README.md

Without backup

Useful for files already tracked by Git:

go run ./skills/compress/go --no-backup README.md

API configuration

Set:

ANTHROPIC_API_KEY

in your environment or .env.local.

If no API key is configured, Iceage can fall back to the claude CLI.

How Claude Code Hooks Work

Iceage uses three components to maintain its active mode across Claude Code sessions.

SessionStart
    │
    ├── Track current Iceage mode
    ├── Inject Iceage rules
    └── Configure statusline
            │
            ▼
      Claude Code Session
            │
            ▼
UserPromptSubmit
    │
    ├── Detect /iceage commands
    ├── Detect natural-language triggers
    ├── Update current mode
    └── Prevent style drift
            │
            ▼
      Iceage Statusline
            │
            ├── [ICEAGE]
            └── [ICEAGE:ULTRA]

SessionStart Hook

hooks/iceage-activate.js

Responsible for:

Tracking the current mode
Injecting Iceage rules as hidden context
Nudging initial statusline setup

UserPromptSubmit Hook

hooks/iceage-mode-tracker.js

Responsible for:

Detecting /iceage commands
Detecting natural-language activation
Updating the mode state
Sending per-turn reminders

Statusline

iceage-statusline.sh
iceage-statusline.ps1

Displays the active mode:

[ICEAGE]

or:

[ICEAGE:ULTRA]

All hooks fail silently on filesystem errors so Iceage never blocks a Claude Code session.

Default Mode

You can configure the default Iceage mode through an environment variable:

export ICEAGE_DEFAULT_MODE=lite

Supported values include:

lite
ultra
wenyan
off

Or use the configuration file:

mkdir -p ~/.config/iceage

echo '{ "defaultMode": "lite" }' \
  > ~/.config/iceage/config.json

Use:

off

to disable automatic activation while keeping manual /iceage activation available.

Supported AI Coding Agents

AI Coding Agent	Integration	Auto-Activation
Claude Code	Hooks + Skills	Yes
Cursor	`.cursor/rules/iceage.mdc`	Yes
Windsurf	`.windsurf/rules/iceage.md`	Yes
Cline	`.clinerules/iceage.md`	Yes
GitHub Copilot	`.github/copilot-instructions.md`	Yes
Gemini CLI	`GEMINI.md`	Yes
Other agents	System prompt / rule file	Manual

Code Review Mode

Iceage can compress code review feedback into short, actionable comments.

Example:

L42: 🔴 bug: token check inverted. Use `exp * 1000`.

Instead of a long explanation, the reviewer gets:

location → severity → issue → fix

This makes large code reviews easier to scan.

Commit Mode

Use:

/iceage-commit

to generate concise Conventional Commit messages.

The goal is:

type(scope): concise description

with a terse body when additional context is required.

Documentation Compression

Iceage can also be used beyond AI conversations.

Use:

go run ./skills/compress/go README.md

to compress existing Markdown documentation.

Useful for:

README files
Developer documentation
Technical guides
Project notes
Architecture documentation
Internal engineering docs

The compressor is designed to reduce unnecessary prose while preserving the structure developers need.

Benchmarks

Iceage includes a benchmark harness for measuring real output token counts.

The benchmark evaluates:

10 prompts
×
Normal vs Iceage modes
×
3 trials

using the Anthropic API.

Run the benchmark:

echo "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-..." > .env.local

cd benchmarks
go run . --trials 3

Results are stored in:

benchmarks/results/

Evaluation snapshots are stored in:

evals/snapshots/

The evaluation compares token ratios against a terse-only baseline.

Philosophy

Iceage is built around one principle:

Communication should carry information, not ceremony.

AI coding assistants already have the intelligence.

The problem is often the interface between that intelligence and the developer.

For engineering workflows, responses should be:

Precise
    ↓
Technical
    ↓
Scannable
    ↓
Minimal

Not:

Greeting
    ↓
Disclaimer
    ↓
Repetition
    ↓
Explanation
    ↓
Conclusion
    ↓
Actual answer

Iceage keeps the answer.

Everything else is optional.

Who Is Iceage For?

Iceage is designed for developers who:

Use AI coding agents daily
Work with Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, Copilot, or Gemini CLI
Want faster AI interactions
Prefer concise technical communication
Want to reduce unnecessary token usage
Read large volumes of AI-generated code and explanations
Want AI responses optimized for engineering workflows

If you already think in:

problem → cause → fix

Iceage is designed for you.

Design Goals

Iceage prioritizes:

Technical accuracy
Information density
Low verbosity
Fast human scanning
Predictable behavior
Minimal configuration
Compatibility with existing AI coding workflows

Iceage does not aim to make AI responses blindly short.

When additional detail is necessary for correctness, safety, debugging, or ambiguity, Iceage can return to normal communication.

Quick Start

git clone https://github.com/pomagrenate/iceage.git
cd iceage

# Claude Code
bash hooks/install.sh

# Then restart Claude Code

Activate:

/iceage

Change intensity:

/iceage lite
/iceage ultra
/iceage wenyan

Disable:

stop iceage

That's it.

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README.md

Latest commit

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README.md

File metadata and controls

iceage

What is Iceage?

Before

After

Why Iceage?

Features

Installation

Supported AI Coding Agents

Claude Code

1. Install Hooks

macOS / Linux

Windows PowerShell

Uninstall

macOS / Linux

Windows PowerShell

Requirement

2. Install Claude Code Skills

macOS / Linux

Windows PowerShell

3. Install Claude Code Commands

macOS / Linux

Windows PowerShell

4. Enable Iceage Per Project

Cursor

Windsurf

Cline

GitHub Copilot

Gemini CLI

Other AI Coding Agents

Modes

Lite

Full

Ultra

Wenyan

Response Compression Example

Normal

Iceage

Commands

iceage-compress

With backup

Without backup

API configuration

How Claude Code Hooks Work

SessionStart Hook

UserPromptSubmit Hook

Statusline

Default Mode

Supported AI Coding Agents

Code Review Mode

Commit Mode

Documentation Compression

Benchmarks

Philosophy

Who Is Iceage For?

Design Goals

Quick Start