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Content-Hash File Cache

Teaches the agent to cache costly file-processing results keyed by SHA-256 content hash

Repository
affaan-m/ECC
Stars
295,127
Licence
MIT
Files
1 file

What it does

This skill gives the agent a design pattern for speeding up file-processing code such as PDF parsing, text extraction, or image analysis. Results are stored under a fingerprint (SHA-256 hash) of the file's contents, so the same file is not reprocessed, even if it is moved or renamed, and a changed file automatically gets fresh results. The agent is guided to add this as a separate caching layer without altering the original processing functions.

Great for

  • Developers building file ingestion pipelines (PDF, OCR, text extraction, image analysis)
  • Engineers adding a --cache/--no-cache option to a command-line tool
  • Teams running batch jobs where the same files recur across runs

Skip it if

  • Data that must always be current, such as real-time feeds, where cached results could be stale
  • Very large cached outputs, where the skill itself suggests streaming instead
  • Results that depend on settings other than file contents (for example different extraction options), since the hash key would not capture them and could return wrong cached output

Try asking

  • “Add a content-hash cache to my PDF text extraction pipeline so re-runs skip unchanged files”
  • “Wrap my existing extract_text function with a cache layer that I can turn off with --no-cache”
  • “Refactor my batch image-analysis script so repeated files are not reprocessed”
Step-by-step guide: how to use Content-Hash File CacheInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs

Install in 3 steps

  1. 1

    Download the skill

    The ZIP contains the 1 original files, the MIT licence and an attribution note.

    content-hash-cache-pattern.zip
  2. 2

    Add it to your agent

    Claude Code (all projects)

    mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && unzip content-hash-cache-pattern.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/

    Claude Code / Agent SDK (this project only)

    mkdir -p .claude/skills && unzip content-hash-cache-pattern.zip -d .claude/skills/

    Claude apps (web/desktop): Settings → Capabilities → Skills → Upload skill, and choose the ZIP.

  3. 3

    Ask for the task

    No special command needed — the agent reads the skill's description and loads it when your request matches. Try one of the prompts above.

Get better results

  • Ask the agent to include extraction settings in the cache key if results vary by options, since the base pattern hashes only file contents
  • Review the cache directory location and add it to .gitignore so cache files are not committed
  • Check that the agent's code matches the documented pattern: hash in chunks, keep processing functions pure, and treat corrupt cache entries as misses

What's inside

  • SKILL.md

Redistributed unmodified from affaan-m/ECC under the MIT licence. The assessment was drafted with AI from the skill's files on 2026-10-29. Skills can instruct your agent to run code — read SKILL.md and any scripts before installing.