TOON v2.0 Formatter Skill (AGGRESSIVE MODE)

Purpose

AGGRESSIVELY apply TOON v2.0 format to save 30-60% tokens on structured data. Use TOON by default for biggish, regular data. Use native Zig encoder for 20x performance.

When to Use (AGGRESSIVE)

TOON ALL DAY - Use automatically for:

• ✅ Arrays with ≥ 5 similar items
• ✅ Tables, logs, events, transactions, analytics
• ✅ API responses with uniform structure (≥60% field overlap)
• ✅ Database query results
• ✅ Repeatedly-used, structured data in prompts
• ✅ RAG pipelines, tool calls, agents passing data around
• ✅ Benchmarks/evals where prompt size = money
• ✅ Shape is more important than labels
• ✅ You know what each column means
• ✅ Can declare headers once, go row-by-row

MAYBE, BUT NOT AUTOMATICALLY - Be selective when:

• ⚠️ Human collaborators reading/editing data a lot
• ⚠️ APIs/tools expect JSON (use JSON on wire, TOON in prompts)
• ⚠️ Structure is uneven (many optional keys, weird nesting)

NO, JUST DON'T - Stick to JSON/text for:

• ❌ Short arrays (< 5 items)
• ❌ One-off examples in docs
• ❌ Narrative text, instructions, essays
• ❌ Deep, irregular trees where hierarchy matters

What is TOON v2.0?

TOON (Token-Oriented Object Notation) v2.0 reduces token consumption by 30-60% for structured data:

Three Array Types

1. Tabular (uniform objects ≥5 items):

[2]{id,name,balance}:
  1,Alice,5420.50
  2,Bob,3210.75

2. Inline (primitives ≤10):

tags[5]: javascript,react,node,express,api

3. Expanded (non-uniform):

- name: Alice
  role: admin
- name: Bob
  level: 5

Three Delimiters

Comma (default, most compact):

[2]{name,city}: Alice,NYC Bob,LA

Tab (for data with commas):

[2\t]{name,address}: Alice	123 Main St, NYC

Pipe (markdown-like):

[2|]{method,path}: GET|/api/users

Key Folding

Flatten nested objects (25-35% extra savings):

server.host: localhost
server.port: 8080
database.host: db.example.com

Process

1. Detect Suitable Data

When encountering array data, check if it meets TOON criteria:

• ✅ Array with ≥5 items
• ✅ Objects with ≥60% field uniformity (most objects share same fields)
• ✅ Flat or moderately nested structure

How to check uniformity:

1. Extract all field names from all objects
2. Count how many objects have the most common set of fields
3. Calculate: (objects with common fields / total objects) × 100
4. If ≥60%, uniformity is good for TOON

2. Estimate Token Savings

Quick estimation method:

• JSON tokens ≈ (item count × field count × 4) + overhead
  • Example: 10 items × 5 fields × 4 = ~200 tokens
• TOON tokens ≈ 20 (header) + (item count × field count × 2)
  • Example: 20 + (10 × 5 × 2) = ~120 tokens
• Savings ≈ (JSON - TOON) / JSON × 100%
  • Example: (200 - 120) / 200 = 40% savings

3. Apply TOON v2.0 Aggressively

AGGRESSIVE MODE: Use Zig encoder for optimal results

If data meets criteria:

Method 1: Use Zig Encoder (Recommended - 20x faster):

.claude/utils/toon/zig-out/bin/toon encode data.json \
  --delimiter tab \
  --key-folding \
  > data.toon

Method 2: Manual TOON (for inline generation):

1. Detect array type (inline/tabular/expanded)
2. Choose delimiter (comma/tab/pipe)
3. Apply key folding if nested objects
4. Build TOON header: [N]{fields}: or key[N]: values
5. Output formatted TOON

Show brief summary:

📊 Using TOON v2.0 (estimated 42% savings, 10 items)
Format: Tabular with tab delimiter
Key folding: enabled

[10\t]{id,name,address,status}:
  1	Alice	123 Main St, NYC	active
  2	Bob	456 Oak Ave, LA	inactive
  ...

Otherwise, use JSON and explain why:

Using JSON because:
- Only 3 items (too small)
- Or: Low uniformity (only 45% have same fields)
- Or: Deeply nested structure

4. Show Formatted Output

Immediately show in TOON with brief explanation:

📊 API Endpoints (15 items, TOON format - saved 40.1% tokens):

[15]{method,path,description,auth,rateLimit}:
  GET,/api/users,List all users,required,100/min
  POST,/api/users,Create new user,required,50/min
  ...

No long explanations needed - just use it!

Best Practices

Always Show Format Decision

When working with data, always indicate which format you're using and why:

📊 Using TOON (estimated 42% token savings)
[count]{fields}:...

or

ℹ️ Using JSON (deeply nested structure, TOON not suitable)
{...}

When NOT to Use TOON

Explain when JSON is better:

• Deeply nested data: TOON excels with flat/tabular structures
• Low uniformity (<70%): Different fields per object reduces TOON benefits
• Small arrays (<10 items): Overhead not worth it
• Single records: Use JSON for clarity

Performance Tips

1. Batch processing: Convert large datasets once, reuse TOON format
2. Uniformity matters: Higher field overlap = better savings
3. Nested arrays: TOON supports nested structures but savings diminish
4. Type coercion: TOON preserves types (numbers, booleans, dates)

Examples

Example 1: API Response

Input:

const apiResponse = await fetch('/api/users').then(r => r.json());
// 150 users returned

Output:

API Response (150 users):
Format: TOON (saves 41.2%, 1,847 tokens saved)

[150]{id,name,email,role,lastLogin}:
  1,Alice Smith,alice@example.com,admin,2024-01-15T10:30:00Z
  2,Bob Jones,bob@example.com,user,2024-01-15T09:15:00Z
  ...

Example 2: Database Query

Input:

SELECT * FROM transactions WHERE date > '2024-01-01' LIMIT 500;

Output:

Query Results (500 transactions):
Format: TOON (saves 38.9%, 3,421 tokens saved)

[500]{id,date,amount,merchant,category,status}:
  1,2024-01-15,42.50,Starbucks,Food & Drink,completed
  2,2024-01-15,125.00,Shell Gas,Transportation,completed
  ...

Example 3: Metrics Dashboard

Input:

const metrics = analyzePerformance();
// Returns array of route performance metrics

Output:

Performance Metrics (45 routes):
Format: TOON (saves 44.1%, 892 tokens saved)

[45]{route,avgTime,p95,requests,errors}:
  /api/users,125,340,15420,3
  /api/products,89,210,8932,0
  /api/orders,450,1250,3421,12
  ...

Example 4: Mixed Data (JSON Better)

Input:

const complexData = {
  metadata: { version: '1.0', timestamp: '...' },
  results: [
    { id: 1, data: { nested: { deep: 'value' } } },
    // Highly nested, non-uniform
  ]
};

Output:

ℹ️ Using JSON format (TOON not recommended):
- Deeply nested structure
- Low uniformity (45%)
- Small array (only 5 items)

{
  "metadata": { "version": "1.0", ... },
  "results": [ ... ]
}

Integration with Other Skills

Financial Analysis

When analyzing transactions or financial data, use TOON for large result sets:

• Transaction histories (100+ items)
• Account balances across multiple accounts
• Payment logs and audit trails

Data Export

When exporting data, check if TOON is suitable:

• If ≥5 items and ≥60% uniform → use TOON
• Otherwise → use JSON

API Documentation

Document API endpoints in TOON format for compact reference:

# API Endpoints

[15]{method,path,auth,rateLimit,description}:
  GET,/api/users,required,100/min,List all users
  POST,/api/users,required,50/min,Create new user
  ...

Commands

Use with these TOON v2.0 commands:

• /toon-encode <file> [--delimiter tab] [--key-folding] - JSON → TOON v2.0
• /toon-validate <file> [--strict] - Validate TOON file
• /analyze-tokens <file> - Compare JSON vs TOON savings
• /convert-to-toon <file> - Legacy command (use toon-encode)

Resources

• Zig Encoder: .claude/utils/toon/toon.zig (601 lines, 20x faster)
• User Guide: .claude/docs/toon-guide.md
• Examples: .claude/utils/toon/examples/ (9 files)
• Guides: .claude/utils/toon/guides/ (4 files)
• FAQ: .claude/docs/FAQ.md
• TOON Spec: https://github.com/toon-format/spec
• Official Site: https://toonformat.dev

Success Metrics

Track TOON usage effectiveness:

• Average token savings: 30-60%
• Accuracy improvement: +3-5% (per official benchmarks)
• Context window freed: 15K+ tokens on large datasets
• User satisfaction: Faster responses, more context available