# Claude Shorthand Cheat-Sheet

## Core Operators

| Pattern | Meaning | Example |
|---------|---------|---------|
| `→` | then (sequential) | `ssh pve173 → zpool status` |
| `+` | and (parallel) | `check caddy + check pihole` |
| `X ? Y : Z` | if X then Y else Z | `port open ? connect : debug` |
| `!X` | don't / skip | `!error handling` |
| `w/` | with | `py script w/ argparse` |
| `@` | at path/location | `new config @ /etc/caddy/` |
| `re:` | regarding | `fix re: tank degraded drive` |
| `=` | set/assign | `port=3000, lang=python` |
| `~` | approximately / like | `~50 lines, ~yesterday` |
| `>>` | output to / save to | `results >> /tmp/report.txt` |
| `<-` | from / source | `data <- freshrss API` |

## Spec Block (complex tasks)

```
feat: <short description>
- lang: <language>
- deps: <dependencies>
- in: <input/source>
- out: <output/target>
- !: <things to skip>
```

## Examples

### Verbose → Compressed

**Service setup:**
```
# Before (~80 tokens):
"Please create a new Python service in the printer-automation directory
that connects to the FreshRSS API, fetches today's articles, formats
them for the receipt printer, and runs as a systemd service"

# After (~20 tokens):
feat: daily print @ printer-automation/
- freshrss API → format → receipt printer
- systemd service
```

**Infra task:**
```
# Before (~50 tokens):
"SSH into pve173, check if any drives in the tank pool are degraded,
and if so tell me which ones need replacement"

# After (~12 tokens):
pve173 → tank degraded drives? → list replacements
```

**Multi-step:**
```
# Before (~60 tokens):
"First read the Caddyfile, then add a new reverse proxy entry for
wiki.sethpc.xyz pointing to 192.168.0.160 port 3000, and also
add it to the Pi-hole DNS"

# After (~15 tokens):
add wiki.sethpc.xyz → .160:3000 to caddy + pihole
```

**Conditional:**
```
# Before (~45 tokens):
"Check if ollama is running on pve197. If it is, test the qwen model.
If it's not running, start it first then test."

# After (~15 tokens):
pve197: ollama running ? test qwen : start → test
```

## Anchors (use known names)

| Say | Not |
|-----|-----|
| `pve173` | "the PowerEdge node at 192.168.0.173" |
| `tank` | "the ZFS pool on node-173" |
| `caddy` | "the reverse proxy in CT 600" |
| `pihole` | "the DNS server at 192.168.0.153" |
| `steel141` | "this machine, my gaming PC" |
| `ollama` | "the LLM inference service" |

## Quick Rules

1. Drop articles (a, the, an) — Claude doesn't need them
2. Drop politeness (please, could you, I'd like) — zero effect on output
3. Use aliases from CLAUDE.md — they're shared vocabulary
4. Bullets > paragraphs — less ambiguous, fewer tokens
5. Imply obvious steps — "add X to caddy" implies read/edit/save