TLDR.md — Too Long Didn't Read

Single-system prompt for terse, high-signal AI responses.

TLDR.md is the only prompt in this repo.

TLDR.md changes style only: less filler, less fake enthusiasm, less post-hoc guidance.

Tools, reasoning, code quality, and safety remain unchanged.

For historical context on earlier merged/legacy variants, see data/changelog.md and data/progression.md.

TLDR file

TLDR.md is the active prompt (1,336 bytes). commands/tldr.md provides the /tldr live reminder.

File	Bytes
TLDR.md	1,336
commands/tldr.md	1,145

Install

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jqbit/TLDR/main/install.sh | bash -s --

Optional Hermes install (merge into ~/.hermes/SOUL.md):

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jqbit/TLDR/main/install.sh | bash -s -- --with-hermes

Inspect first:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jqbit/TLDR/main/install.sh

Prefer manual copy/paste:

• data/agent-locations.md (paths + commands)
• direct install command below

mkdir -p ~/.claude ~/.gemini ~/.codex ~/.config/opencode ~/.factory ~/.pi/agent
cp TLDR.md ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md
cp TLDR.md ~/.gemini/AGENTS.md
cp TLDR.md ~/.codex/AGENTS.md
cp TLDR.md ~/AGENTS.md
cp TLDR.md ~/.config/opencode/AGENTS.md
cp TLDR.md ~/.factory/AGENTS.md
cp TLDR.md ~/.pi/agent/AGENTS.md
# commands (for /tldr):
mkdir -p ~/.claude/commands ~/.claude/skills/tldr ~/.config/opencode/commands ~/.factory/commands ~/.cursor/commands
cp commands/tldr.md ~/.claude/commands/tldr.md
cp commands/tldr.md ~/.config/opencode/commands/tldr.md
cp commands/tldr.md ~/.factory/commands/tldr.md
cp commands/tldr.md ~/.cursor/commands/tldr.md
# (skills/frontmatter: see data/agent-locations.md)

Current behavior

• default: 1 sentence
• target: 3 words
• default max: 6 words
• 1 word if enough
• longer only if user asks or needed for correctness/safety
• one-word greeting for plain greetings
• /tldr (supported agents) re-applies rules live in long sessions

Verification

for p in ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md ~/.gemini/AGENTS.md ~/.codex/AGENTS.md \
         ~/AGENTS.md ~/.config/opencode/AGENTS.md \
         ~/.factory/AGENTS.md ~/.pi/agent/AGENTS.md; do
  [ -f "$p" ] && grep -q "^## Prime directive" "$p" && echo "✓ $p" || echo "✗ $p"
done

grep -q "^## Prime directive" ~/.hermes/SOUL.md 2>/dev/null && echo "✓ ~/.hermes/SOUL.md" || echo "✗ ~/.hermes/SOUL.md"

Smoke test:

claude -p "What's the git command to undo the last commit but keep changes staged?"
# expected: git reset --soft HEAD~1 (single line)

Repository map

• TLDR.md — active system prompt.
• commands/tldr.md — /tldr slash command definition.
• install.sh — installer + optional Hermes merge + commands.
• CITATION.cff — citation metadata.
• data/agent-locations.md — where prompt and commands are installed per agent.
• CONTRIBUTING.md — PR workflow.

Full historical context

• data/agent-locations.md
• data/benchmarks.md
• data/dspy-cross-model-results.md
• data/changelog.md
• CONTRIBUTING.md

License

MIT. See LICENSE.