Honey CCR
The cheapest token is the one not sent. A 500-row log read for one error line costs 500 rows of context. CCR keeps the rows that carry signal and caches the rest — recoverable by hash, so nothing is lost.
Borrowed from headroom's SmartCrusher. Lossy by design — only for data you
skim, never for payloads where every row matters (e.g. a code-review handoff
where the implementer needs all findings; use eson encode losslessly there).
When to use
- A tool returns a uniform JSON array of many records (≥ ~5 items, redundant).
- You need to read it but mostly skim — logs, search hits, metrics, events.
- The full data stays reachable, so dropping the boring middle is safe.
Don't use
- Small arrays (passes through untouched anyway) or non-array data.
- Any array where every element is load-bearing — encode it, don't crush it.
How
shtool-that-spews-json | eson crush # → sampled view + sentinel; originals cached eson retrieve <hash> # → the full original array, verbatim
crush prints the kept sample plus a sentinel
{"_ccr":"<<ccr:HASH N_rows_offloaded>>"}. When you need a dropped row, read the
hash from the sentinel and run eson retrieve <hash>.
- Cache dir:
.honey-ccr/(override withHONEY_CCR_DIR). - Below the size gate,
crushreturns the array unchanged with no sentinel — safe to pipe anything.
Always-on hook (entry-time GC)
While Honey is active, a registered PostToolUse hook applies this automatically to
Bash output — no opt-in per call. Big uniform JSON arrays (≥20 items, ≥2k chars) are
crushed; repetitive text (≥25 lines) gets consecutive repeats collapsed to ⟨×N⟩.
The original is always stashed first, and the rewritten result ends with the exact
eson retrieve <hash> command that restores it. /honey off disables the hook;
history already in context is immutable — this fires at entry, the only place a
hook can act.
Caveat: the hook needs Claude Code 2.1.121+; older builds can't rewrite Bash output
(a session-start warning tells you). Manual some-tool | eson crush piping works on
any version — prefer it there.
