def replace_rep(t:str) -> str:
    "Replace repetitions at the character level in `t`."
    def _replace_rep(m:Collection[str]) -> str:
        c,cc = m.groups()
        return f' {TK_REP} {len(cc)+1} {c} '
    re_rep = re.compile(r'(\S)(\1{3,})')
    return re_rep.sub(_replace_rep, t)
Replace repetitions at the character level in `t`.