Improve lib performance

**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 implementation and the configuration entry point in the repository, since the issue names no files or tests. Trace how helper behavior is configured and determine how production deployments currently invoke it. Done means a new enable_compression option defaults to false and compression for helpers works when enabled.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.