| name | simplify |
| description | Review recently changed files for reuse, quality, and efficiency issues, then fix them. Use after completing a change, before declaring done. |
| metadata | {"category":"user-invoked"} |
| disable-model-invocation | true |
Default output: return only the result, blockers, and required evidence. Omit preambles, process narration, repeated context, confidence scores, and follow-up offers. Use at most five bullets unless a required artifact or schema needs more.
Simplify
This is an expanded profile of code-simplification that adds multi-agent parallel review. For the canonical simplification workflow, see skills/code-simplification/SKILL.md.
Workflow
- Identify recently changed files via
git diff --stat
- Spawn three parallel review agents:
| Agent | Focus | Finds |
|---|
| Code Reuse | Duplication | Repeated logic, extractable functions, copy-paste patterns |
| Quality | Complexity | Dead code, poor naming, deep nesting, missing error handling |
| Efficiency | Performance | Redundant allocations, unnecessary iterations, missing caches |
- Aggregate findings: deduplicate, sort by impact (bugs > performance > readability > style)
- Apply fixes one at a time, verifying after each
- Report confidence (0.0-1.0)
Focus Areas
Pass a focus argument to weight the matching agent higher:
memory efficiency
readability
reducing duplication
performance
error handling
What NOT to Simplify
- Intentional complexity
- Performance-critical paths without benchmarking
- Public APIs without a migration plan
- Test code (clarity over brevity)
- Generated code
See Also
code-simplification — Canonical simplification skill
code-review-and-quality — Multi-axis code review
text-cleanup — AI verbosity removal (different from code simplification)
Anti-Rationalization Table
| Excuse | Counter |
|---|
| "The multi-agent review is overkill for small changes" | Small changes can hide duplication and inefficiency. Parallel review catches what single review misses. |
| "I'll skip the efficiency agent, readability is enough" | Performance regressions creep in silently. The efficiency agent catches them before they compound. |
| "Aggregating findings takes too long" | Unaggregated findings lead to conflicting fixes. Deduplicate and prioritize before applying. |
| "I'll simplify test code too" | Test code prioritizes clarity over brevity. Do not simplify tests for the sake of fewer lines. |
| "The confidence score is just a number" | Confidence scores flag areas that need human review. Low confidence means "look closer." |