Improve lib performance

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

**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 model-handling and configuration entry points in this Shell project, then determine how model data is loaded for production deployments. Check how a new enable_compression option would be represented with a false default; done means the option controls model compression without changing existing behavior when disabled.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.