simplify

name	simplify
description	Simplify branch/PR changes without altering behavior; use before opening a PR, while refining one, or after review feedback.

Simplify

Run this skill as a focused cleanup pass on branch/PR diffs.

Read these references when relevant:

• references/config-surface-governance.md when the diff touches configuration, startup, compatibility boundaries, environment injection, or test harness inputs

Workflow (3 phases, 3 perspectives)

1. Phase 1: Scope

• Start with git diff HEAD (or PR diff/comments).
• Focus on changed files and critical paths.
• Lock invariants/contracts and follow AGENTS.md.
• When the diff touches startup, configuration, compatibility, or tests, inspect the governing planning docs first so the cleanup pass preserves the intended ownership of configuration and state.

2. Phase 2: Review

• Code Reuse: duplicate logic, missed helper/utility reuse, dead code.
• Code Quality: redundant state, parameter sprawl, copy-paste variants, leaky abstractions, stringly types.
• Efficiency: unnecessary await/work, missed parallelization, hot-path bloat, TOCTOU, memory leaks, overly broad operations.
• Architecture fit / control surfaces: redundant env vars, CLI flags, singleton reads, or compatibility shims when an existing typed owner already exists.
• Keep only actionable findings in changed scope.

3. Phase 3: Fix and verify

• Apply high-signal fixes; skip false positives/low-value items.
• Preserve external behavior unless asked otherwise.
• When simplifying only part of a diff, decide the intended file set before running a formatter or fixer. Prefer path-scoped commands when the tool supports them, and stop if formatting spills into files outside the intended set.
• Run relevant tests/lint/type checks for touched scope.
• End with a short summary of fixes, skips, and checks (or confirm code is already clean).

Guardrails

• Preserve external behavior unless the user explicitly asks for behavior changes.
• Keep scope tight to branch/PR diff unless the user requests broader cleanup.
• Avoid broad stylistic churn unrelated to simplification goals.
• If a simplification trades off extensibility, call it out explicitly.
• Treat new process-global configuration surfaces as suspicious unless they are required by an external compatibility boundary and converted immediately into typed state.
• If the diff adds another way to configure an existing value, prefer collapsing it into the already-owned typed configuration surface.

Output Checklist

1. Files/areas simplified.
2. Changes by perspective (reuse, quality, efficiency, architecture fit).
3. Invariants preserved and skipped items.
4. Verification commands and outcomes.