compact-readme

Take an existing README that has grown into a wall of text and tables, and tighten the landing view so a reader reaches the install/run command in ~30 seconds — while preserving every fact by relocating (never deleting) detail into <details> blocks and merged paragraphs.

[!IMPORTANT] This is the complement to write-readme. write-readme = scaffold a new README from scratch in the kirchDev house style. compact-readme = slim down an existing one. If there is no README yet, stop and use write-readme instead.

[!IMPORTANT] Never delete content. Everything you cut from the visible view must land somewhere — folded into a <details> block or merged into an existing paragraph. The goal is fewer visible lines, not less information.

Goal & rule of thumb

• The un-collapsed (visible, outside <details>) line count should roughly halve, with zero information loss.
• Reference detail stays in the file, just collapsed or consolidated.
• Reference: the envprism README went from ~194 → ~98 visible lines by folding the feature list + config tables into <details>, merging Install+Quickstart, and deduping the tagline / runtime note / "round-trip preserving" claim. See REFERENCE.md for the worked before/after.

Step 1 — Diagnose (measure before you cut)