system-diet

name	system-diet
description	Forces removal of 20% of active tools, plugins, and automation pipelines to prevent complexity stagnation. Identifies unused, redundant, or low-value system components. Triggers on: 'system diet', 'too many tools', 'declutter', 'simplify setup', 'tool audit'.

System Diet — Forced Complexity Reduction

Remove 20% of active tools, plugins, and automation pipelines every quarter. Systems that don't shrink rot from the inside.

When to Trigger

Auto-trigger: User adds a new tool/plugin without removing an old one, or when tool configuration files grow beyond a manageable size.

Explicit (/system-diet): User wants to audit their toolchain, simplify their setup, or feels their system is slowing them down.

Constraints (NON-NEGOTIABLE)

1. 20% minimum removal — if you can't find 20% to cut, you're not looking hard enough
2. No "I might need it" — if you haven't used it in 30 days, it's gone
3. One in, one out — for every new tool added, one must be removed
4. Measure before cutting — document what each tool actually does for you
5. Answer in Korean unless user writes in English

Process

Step 1: Inventory

Scan the user's tool ecosystem. Collect from:

# Obsidian plugins
cat .obsidian/community-plugins.json 2>/dev/null

# Claude Code plugins and settings
cat ~/.claude/settings.json 2>/dev/null | jq '.enabledPlugins'

# Homebrew/cargo packages
brew list 2>/dev/null | wc -l
cargo install --list 2>/dev/null | grep -c '^-'

# Shell aliases/functions
grep -c 'alias\|function' ~/.zshrc 2>/dev/null

# Automation scripts
find ~ -name "*.sh" -path "*/bin/*" 2>/dev/null | wc -l

Step 2: Usage audit

For each component, classify:

Usage Level	Criteria	Action
Active	Used in the last 7 days	KEEP
Situational	Used in the last 30 days	PROBATION — justify or cut
Dormant	Not used in 30+ days	CUT
Forgotten	User doesn't remember installing it	CUT immediately

Step 3: Value classification

For each ACTIVE and SITUATIONAL tool, ask:

"What concrete outcome does this produce that you couldn't achieve without it?"

Value Level	Criteria	Action
Critical	Cannot do core work without it	KEEP
Accelerator	Saves measurable time daily	KEEP
Convenience	Nice to have, saves minor effort	Candidate for CUT
Ritual	Used out of habit, not necessity	CUT

Step 4: The 20% cut

Calculate: total_components × 0.2 = minimum_removals

Select cuts from this priority:

1. Forgotten components (free cuts)
2. Dormant components (free cuts)
3. Ritual-value components (easy cuts)
4. Convenience-value components on probation (harder cuts)

If forgotten + dormant < 20%, cut into convenience-value tools until the 20% threshold is met.

Step 5: Record

mkdir -p system-diet

Write to system-diet/AUDIT-{timestamp}.md:

---
date: {ISO-8601}
total_components: {N}
removed: {N} ({percentage}%)
---

# System Diet Audit: {date}

## Inventory
| Component | Usage | Value | Decision |
|-----------|-------|-------|----------|
| {name} | {active/situational/dormant/forgotten} | {critical/accelerator/convenience/ritual} | {KEEP/CUT/PROBATION} |

## Removed
- {component}: {reason for removal}

## Kept (with justification)
- {component}: {why it survived}

## New Rules
- {any one-in-one-out policies established}

Anti-Rationalization

Excuse	Rebuttal	Do instead
"I might need it someday"	In 30 days you didn't. In 30 more you won't.	Cut it. If you truly need it, reinstalling takes 2 minutes.
"It doesn't hurt to keep it"	Every unused tool adds cognitive load, maintenance burden, and config noise.	Count the total. Then ask if 100 things is better than 80.
"This one is special"	They're all special. That's why you have so many.	Apply the same criteria. No exceptions.
"The setup took hours"	Sunk cost. Keeping it costs attention forever.	The hours are spent regardless. Future attention is the real cost.
"I just organized it perfectly"	Perfect organization of unused tools is still waste.	Organize the 80% you actually use.

Evidence Required

• Full inventory of tools/plugins/pipelines
• Usage classification for each component
• Value classification for active components
• 20% minimum removal achieved
• Each removal justified
• Audit recorded to file

Red Flags

• Can't reach 20% removal (not being honest about usage)
• Everything is classified as "critical" (no discipline)
• User wants to "pause" removals instead of committing
• "I'll use it more next month" for dormant tools
• Inventory itself is overwhelming (already a sign of bloat)

Agent Instructions

Do

• Count components ruthlessly — the number itself is diagnostic
• Classify honestly — most "convenience" tools are actually "ritual"
• Make the 20% math explicit and enforce it
• Celebrate removals as progress, not loss
• Schedule the next quarterly diet

Do Not

• Let everything be "critical"
• Accept "I'll think about it" as a decision
• Skip dormant/forgotten components in the count
• Let the user reclassify things to avoid cutting
• Forget to schedule the next audit