| name | clean-code |
| description | Simplifies noisy implementations and improves maintainability during code changes. Use when refactoring, trimming duplication, or tightening readability. |
Clean code
Use this skill to remove unnecessary complexity around the task in front of you. Favor small, behavior-preserving cleanups over broad style rewrites.
Usage
Reach for this skill when the work is already in scope and the code can be made clearer without redesigning the subsystem.
When to use
| Situation | Apply this skill |
|---|
| Refactoring noisy code | Remove dead abstractions, duplication, and indirection |
| Reviewing maintainability | Tighten names, control flow, and file boundaries |
| Finishing a feature or bug fix | Trim opportunistic complexity in touched code only |
Workflow
- Map the impact surface: callers, imports, tests, and shared interfaces.
- Simplify only what is coupled to the task; avoid unrelated rewrites.
- Prefer clearer names, flatter control flow, and colocated logic over extra layers.
- Delete redundant comments, one-off helpers, and unused branches when safe.
- Re-run the relevant validation commands before finishing.
High-signal checks
| Keep | Remove |
|---|
| Names that explain intent | Placeholder names and abbreviations |
| Guard clauses and straight-line flow | Deep nesting and branching noise |
| Shared abstractions with multiple callers | Helpers used once with no reuse value |
| Comments that explain non-obvious intent | Comments that restate the code |
| Small focused edits | Cleanup that changes unrelated behavior |
Guardrails
- Preserve behavior first; cleanup is not a license to redesign the module.
- Update dependent files in the same task when signatures or shared types move.
- Prefer the repository's existing lint/test commands over inventing new checks.
Examples
Good cleanup targets
- Inline a helper that only wraps a single expression.
- Replace nested
if trees with early returns.
- Rename
data/item/temp variables to domain-specific names.
- Remove dead branches or stale debug logging in touched code.
Out of scope
- Rewriting an entire subsystem without a product requirement.
- Introducing new patterns only because they are fashionable.
- Splitting files or creating helpers when the current file is already clear.
