Anti-Patterns: Common Token Wasters
Patterns that inflate token counts without adding value.
Decorative Elements
Excessive Emojis
Bad:
# 🚀 Getting Started 🎉
Welcome! 👋 Let's get you set up! 💪
## 📋 Prerequisites ✨
You'll need: 🔧
- Node.js 🟢
- Azure CLI ☁️Good:
# Getting Started
## Prerequisites
- Node.js 18+
- Azure CLIToken cost: ~2 tokens per emoji. 10 decorative emojis = 20 wasted tokens.
When emojis ARE appropriate:
- Status indicators in tables
- Actual meaning (not decoration)
Horizontal Rules Overuse
Bad:
## Section One
Content here.
---
## Section Two
More content.
---Good:
## Section One
Content here.
## Section Two
More content.Token cost: ~3 tokens per ---
Redundant Content
Repeated Introductions
Bad:
## Prerequisites
Before you begin, ensure these are installed:
- Node.js (with redundant explanations)
- Azure CLI (with redundant explanations)Good:
## Prerequisites
- Node.js 18+
- Azure CLI 2.50+Echo Headers
Bad:
## Troubleshooting
This section covers troubleshooting steps.
### Common Issues
Here are some common issues you might encounter.Good:
## Troubleshooting
| Issue | Solution |
|-------|----------|
| Auth fails | Run `az login` |Verbose Constructions
Filler Words
Bad:
To successfully deploy your application to Azure,
you will first need to make sure that you have properly
configured all of the necessary prerequisites.Good:
Before deploying to Azure, configure these prerequisites:Savings: ~20 tokens
Unnecessary Qualifiers
Bad:
- It's very important to always remember to...
- You should definitely make sure to...
- It's absolutely essential that you...Good:
- Remember to...
- Ensure...
- Required:...Structural Issues
Inline Documentation That Should Be Referenced
Bad (in SKILL.md):
## Complete API Reference
### GET /users
Returns all users. Accepts params...
[continues for 200 more lines]Good:
## API Reference
See [references/API.md](references/API.md) for endpoints.
Key endpoints: `GET /users`, `POST /users`, `GET /users/:id`Duplicate Examples
Bad: Three separate examples with 95% identical base command
Good:
## Examples
Basic: `az storage account create -n NAME -g RG -l LOCATION`
Options: `--tags env=dev`, `--sku Standard_GRS`
More: [references/EXAMPLES.md](references/EXAMPLES.md)Detection Checklist
When reviewing a file, check for:
- More than 3 decorative emojis
- Sections that start with "This section..."
- Verbose constructions (see Filler Words section)
- Same command/text appearing 3+ times
- Code blocks longer than 10 lines
- Tables with 10+ rows in main SKILL.md
- Headers followed immediately by similar subheaders