Nit, a Git replacement written in Zig, slashes token usage for AI agents by 71% while maintaining speed and functionality. Designed to eliminate human-centric Git formatting, nit reduces token-heavy outputs like verbose headers and decorative text, which AI models waste resources parsing. Benchmarks show 1.44x faster execution for critical commands like `diff` and 1.64x speedup for `status` compared to Git. In real-world testing, nit’s compact defaults could save 150-250K tokens across coding sessions, cutting costs and latency for AI-driven workflows.

Built with zero-cost C interop, nit directly interfaces with libgit2’s object database, bypassing subprocess overhead. For unoptimized commands, it falls back to Git via `execvpe()`, ensuring full compatibility via the `git=nit` alias. The U1 experiment—reducing diff context from 3 to 1 line—sparked debate but proved viable: Claude agents showed no comprehension loss in 27 trials, and real-world data revealed only 3.9% of agents needed source files post-diff. This validated nit’s streamlined approach without sacrificing utility.

Conformance testing was critical. With 78 tests covering edge cases like merge commits and submodules, nit ensured parity with Git’s decades-old behavior. The passthrough design allowed incremental adoption, prioritizing high-impact commands first. Users can toggle human-friendly formatting with `nit -H`, preserving Git’s familiar interface when needed. Brew installation (`brew install fielding/tap/nit`) makes adoption frictionless.

Nit redefines Git for AI-native workflows, proving machine-optimized tools can coexist with human workflows. By targeting token efficiency without compromising functionality, it sets a precedent for AI infrastructure. As one developer noted: "Everything you don’t notice is Git. Everything that’s faster is Nit."