Governor is a Claude Code plugin that tackles token and context bloat beyond simple style compression. It reduces output tokens, shrinks recurring memory files like CLAUDE.md, filters noisy build/test logs, and adds planning guardrails to prevent scope drift. It's installed as a Claude Code plugin, exposing a /governor:* command namespace.

Quick Start

bash install.sh --force

Restart Claude Code, then run:

/governor:status
/governor:audit
/governor:compress CLAUDE.md

Governor auto-starts in compact professional mode. Toggle with /governor:on and /governor:off.

Benchmarks

Small local benchmarks with Sonnet (non-interactive, no tools):

• Output tokens (three technical prompts): Control avg 989 tokens → Governor avg 440 tokens (55.5% savings). Caveman-style gives 44.9% savings.
• Memory compression: 1877-token file → 838 tokens (55.4% savings) with medium compression.
• Tool output filtering: Synthetic pytest -vv noisy output of 54,314 estimated tokens → 1,726 tokens (96.8% blocked) with preserved failure lines.

Key Features

• Always-on compact mode via SessionStart and UserPromptSubmit hooks.
• Professional memory compression: /governor:compress CLAUDE.md rewrites verbose files while preserving code blocks, inline code, paths, URLs, headings, tables, warnings, and env vars. A quality guard rejects low-savings compressions and restores the backup.
• Tool-output filtering: Summarizes noisy Bash/test/build output but preserves failure signals.
• Telemetry ledger: /governor:status reports blocked tokens, failures, compactions.
• Prompt guidance: Soft suggestions for vague broad prompts.
• Plan and drift guard: /governor:plan creates an implementation contract; /governor:guard checks current changes against it.
• Portable rule snippets: Compact-mode rules included for Codex, Gemini, Cursor, Windsurf, and Cline.

Commands

• /governor:on / /governor:off – Enable/disable response compression
• /governor:status – Usage dashboard and waste heat map
• /governor:audit – Find bloated memory/rule files
• /governor:compress CLAUDE.md – Compress memory files
• /governor:full – Next Bash command returns full output
• /governor:plan / /governor:guard – Scope management
• /governor:benchmark – Explain benchmark results

Installation

# Local development
claude --plugin-dir .

One-line local install
bash install.sh --force
From repository
gh repo clone 0xhimanshu/governor
cd governor
bash install.sh --force

Heavy Claude Code users should try Governor if they struggle with context bloating, broad task drift, or noisy logs eating their quota. It's a serious alternative to style-only token savers.