| name | redo |
| user-invokable | true |
| description | This skill should be used when the user says "redo this", "start over", "scrap this approach", "rewrite from scratch", "try a simpler approach", or wants to discard the current implementation and reimplement with an elegant solution using everything learned so far. |
Elegant Redo
After working through a problem and gaining deep context about the codebase, constraints, and edge cases, step back, discard the current approach, and reimplement from scratch with the simplest, most elegant solution.
Steps
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Synthesize what was learned: Review the conversation history. Identify:
- The core problem being solved
- Constraints and edge cases discovered along the way
- What made the current approach complex or unsatisfying
- Any insights that only became clear after working through it
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Identify the essential complexity: Separate what is truly necessary from accidental complexity. Ask: "What is the minimum viable design if explained to a senior engineer with full context?"
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Design the elegant solution: Before writing any code, describe the new approach in 3-5 sentences. It should be:
- Simpler than what exists (fewer moving parts, less indirection)
- More direct (shortest path from input to output)
- Obvious in hindsight ("of course it should work this way")
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Confirm with the user: Present the new design and get approval before proceeding. Explain what changes and why it is better.
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Implement cleanly: Rewrite from scratch rather than patching. Do not carry forward unnecessary abstractions, workarounds, or dead code from the previous attempt.
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Verify: Run tests, linters, and any relevant quality gates to confirm the new implementation is correct.
Guiding Principles
- "Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." — Antoine de Saint-Exupery
- The best code is code that doesn't exist. Delete aggressively.
- If the elegant solution is what already exists, say so. Do not rewrite for the sake of rewriting.
