slime-code-review-preferences

# Slime Code Review Preferences Apply these lightweight review heuristics when changing slime code. ## Prefer Direct APIs Over Thin Wrappers - Remove helper layers that only rename a call, format one path, or forward arguments without owning meaningful behavior. - Prefer calling the concrete reusable API directly, for example a `*_to_path` helper when the caller already knows the destination path. - Keep a wrapper only if it owns a real boundary: compatibility, validation, nontrivial error policy, lifecycle management, metrics/logging semantics, async/retry behavior, or cross-module ownership. - Avoid moving a redundant wrapper's body into another file just to preserve the wrapper shape. Inline the simple call at the natural ownership site. - When removing a wrapper, search for sibling wrappers and nearby helpers with `rg` and delete confirmed dead functions in the same pass. - Treat single-use convenience functions as suspicious when their only job is path formatting plus forwarding. Prefer the caller owning that one line. ## Make Branches Explain Themselves - Order conditionals by semantic precedence: special transport/lifecycle modes first, then explicit mode choices, then default paths. - Prefer predicates that fully describe the branch, such as `mode == "full" and transport == "disk"`, over a broad predicate followed by an assert that explains what the branch really meant. - Use asserts as invariants for impossible states after validation, not as a substitute for clear branch conditions. ## Keep Abstractions Honest - Add an abstraction only when it removes real duplication, hides fragile mechanics, or clarifies ownership. - When a review comment points out repeated indirection, look for a smaller public surface rather than adding another alias. - Preserve existing behavior intentionally. If cleanup changes error handling, logging, or failure visibility, call that out in the final response. ## Keep Runtime State Out of Args - Treat `args` as configuration. Do not add ad hoc `args._xxx` attributes to pass actor handles, caches, recovery progress, current versions, or other runtime state between components. Renaming these to public attributes does not fix the ownership problem. - Put live state on the component that owns its lifecycle. Pass dependencies explicitly, and use typed return values for startup plans or restoration results shared between components. - Avoid replacing scattered temporary fields with a generic `args.context` bag. Keep each state object's responsibility and lifetime clear. - Preserve existing custom hook signatures, call arguments, and return conventions when refactoring internal state. User implementations must not need new parameters merely to accommodate an internal cleanup.