| name | complexity-loc-balancer |
| description | Reduce radon/xenon complexity while keeping non-test runtime LOC growth at or below zero. |
Complexity LOC Balancer
Overview
Run a strict balancing loop that improves complexity metrics and prevents net non-test code growth.
Delegate structural reduction execution to non-test-bloat-reduction and metric evidence collection to code-health.
Ownership
- Own decision gating between complexity gain and LOC growth risk.
- Own stop/continue decisions when tradeoffs conflict.
- Own cycle-level acceptance contract for balanced progress.
Delegation
- Delegate executable reduction edits to
non-test-bloat-reduction.
- Delegate health evidence (
radon, xenon, diff summary) to code-health.
- Do not duplicate specialist internals from delegated skills.
Workflow
- Capture baseline snapshot.
- Collect:
- non-test net delta (working and staged)
- offending block count (
CC > 10)
- minimum required CC reduction estimate
- xenon pass/fail
- Run the standard gate bundle from
references/complexity_gate_bundle.md.
- Build reduction candidates.
- Request intent clusters from
non-test-bloat-reduction.
- Keep only candidates that can preserve behavior and plausibly avoid net LOC growth.
- Apply bounded edit cycle.
- Run one cycle only:
- minimal correct change
- immediate simplification/deletion pass
- Run balance gate.
- Accept cycle only when all checks pass:
- offending blocks do not increase
- minimum required CC reduction does not increase
- non-test working net delta
<= 0
- xenon state does not regress
- If complexity improves but non-test net delta becomes positive, reject cycle and force deletion-only follow-up.
- Publish cycle verdict.
- Return:
accepted or rejected- reason codes from
references/decision_matrix.md
- next highest-yield deletion targets
Hard Rules
- Never classify a cycle as success when non-test working net delta is positive.
- Never claim xenon success unless command output confirms pass.
- Never compensate LOC growth with comment/docstring churn.
- Stop and report
balance_blocked when two consecutive cycles fail balance gate.
Resources
- Decision policy:
references/decision_matrix.md
- Gate commands:
references/complexity_gate_bundle.md
- Cycle checker:
scripts/quick_validate.py
