First Prototype · v0.1

lean.clarus.news

TRIM.
Lean Information
Capture

Browser Extension · v0.1

Flag wasteful information on any webpage, classify it using Ron Hyams' Lean Information framework , and send structured feedback to your organisation's information owners — directly from your browser.

⬇ Install Extension Lean Information ↗ Team ↗

Workflow

How it works

Select any text

Highlight a word, sentence, data point, or entire paragraph on any webpage, intranet page, PDF, or web application.

Click the ⚑ TRIM button

A small TRIM button appears near your selection. Click it — or use the right-click context menu — to open the classification overlay.

Step 1 — Choose the wasteful attribute

Select which Lean Information waste attribute applies: Meaningless, Ambiguous, Incorrect, or Incomplete.

Meaningless · Ambiguous · Incorrect · Incomplete

Step 2 — Choose a solution

Select the recommended solution from the Solution Possibilities grid. The grid highlights the solutions relevant to your waste type.

Needed · Plain · Structured · Verified · Governed · …

Add context and submit

Optionally describe the task you were performing. Submit to api.lean.clarus.news — or saved locally if the server is offline.

Ron Hyams · LeanInformation.com

The Lean Information Framework

Screen 1 — Information / Wasteful

Meaningless → Relevant

Ambiguous → Specific

Incorrect → Correct

Incomplete → Complete

Screen 2 — Solution Possibilities

Needed

Plain

Named

Structured

Designed

Verified

Governed

Inclusive

Contextualized

Transferable

Taxonomy by LeanInformation.com · Licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0

Installation

Install the Extension

⚠ First Prototype: TRIM v0.1 is an early prototype. It is not yet available in the Chrome Web Store or Firefox Add-ons. Install it manually using the instructions below. Feedback and contributions are welcome.

🌐

Chrome / Edge / Brave

Download and unzip trim-extension-en-v0.1.zip
Open chrome://extensions
Enable Developer mode (top-right toggle)
Click "Load unpacked"
Select the trim-extension/ folder
Extension appears in the toolbar ✓

🦊

Firefox

Open about:debugging#/runtime/this-firefox
Click "Load Temporary Add-on"
Select manifest.json from the unzipped folder
Extension is active until Firefox restarts
For permanent install: use Firefox Developer Edition

⌥

Via GitHub

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/
  [repo]/trim-extension.git

# Then load as unpacked
# extension (see Chrome)
        

C# ASP.NET Core · localhost:5050

Backend API

The extension sends captures to api.lean.clarus.news or falls back to localhost:5050. The backend is a minimal C# ASP.NET Core API with PostgreSQL storage and Claude Sonnet LLM classification via MCP.

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/health	Status check — used by extension popup
POST	/api/capture	Save a new capture from the browser extension
GET	/api/captures	Retrieve captures (paginated, ?page=1&size=20)
GET	/api/report	Aggregated Lean Waste report by type and solution

# Start backend locally
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-... \
  dotnet run --urls=http://localhost:5050

# Example capture payload
{
  "text":        "Customer data from 2021 still in portal",
  "waste_type":  "incorrect",
  "solution":    "verified",
  "task_context":"Preparing Q2 offer"
}
    

Credits

About this project

Framework Author

Ron Hyams

Founder of Lean Information. Ron developed the Lean Information framework synthesising information science and lean manufacturing. Board member of the Swiss Knowledge Management Forum and member of PLAIN (Plain Language Association International) since 2019. The taxonomy is licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0.

leaninformation.com ↗

Technical Implementation

Andreas Binggeli

Co-founder and technical architect of clarus.news — a multilingual AI-assisted Swiss news platform. Over 30 years of experience in IT architecture, software engineering, and enterprise architecture across Swiss federal agencies and his own companies.

clarus.news / Team ↗

⚠ Prototype Notice: TRIM v0.1 is a first prototype built to demonstrate the technical feasibility of browser-based lean information capture. APIs, data models, and UI may change significantly in future versions. Not recommended for production use without review of the backend security configuration.