Support serialization configuration

**Feature request**
It would be great to have compression for helpers.

**Use case**
Many users need this functionality for production deployments.

**Implementation idea**
Add a new config option `enable_compression` with default `false`.

Start by locating the helper serialization code and the existing configuration handling; the issue names no files or tests. Trace how helper output is serialized, then verify that the new enable_compression option defaults to false and that enabling it provides compression for helpers.

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