code-simplifier

name	code-simplifier
description	Review RTCO Rust code for idiomatic simplification. Detects over-engineering, unnecessary allocations, verbose patterns. Applies Rust idioms without changing behavior.
triggers	["simplify","too verbose","over-engineered","refactor this","make this idiomatic"]
allowed-tools	["Read","Grep","Glob","Edit"]
effort	low
tags	["rust","simplify","refactor","idioms","rtco"]

RTCO Code Simplifier

Review and simplify Rust code in RTCO while respecting the project's constraints.

Constraints (never simplify away)

• lazy_static! regex — cannot be moved inside functions even if "simpler"
• .context() on every ? — verbose but mandatory
• Fallback to raw command — never remove even if it looks like dead code
• Exit code propagation — never simplify to Ok(())
• #[cfg(test)] mod tests — never remove test modules

Simplification Patterns

1. Iterator chains over manual loops

// ❌ Verbose
let mut result = Vec::new();
for line in input.lines() {
    let trimmed = line.trim();
    if !trimmed.is_empty() && trimmed.starts_with("error") {
        result.push(trimmed.to_string());
    }
}

// ✅ Idiomatic
let result: Vec<String> = input.lines()
    .map(|l| l.trim())
    .filter(|l| !l.is_empty() && l.starts_with("error"))
    .map(str::to_string)
    .collect();

2. String building

// ❌ Verbose push loop
let mut out = String::new();
for (i, line) in lines.iter().enumerate() {
    out.push_str(line);
    if i < lines.len() - 1 {
        out.push('\n');
    }
}

// ✅ join
let out = lines.join("\n");

3. Option/Result chaining

// ❌ Nested match
let result = match maybe_value {
    Some(v) => match transform(v) {
        Ok(r) => r,
        Err(_) => default,
    },
    None => default,
};

// ✅ Chained
let result = maybe_value
    .and_then(|v| transform(v).ok())
    .unwrap_or(default);

4. Struct destructuring

// ❌ Repeated field access
fn process(args: &MyArgs) -> String {
    format!("{} {}", args.command, args.subcommand)
}

// ✅ Destructure
fn process(&MyArgs { ref command, ref subcommand, .. }: &MyArgs) -> String {
    format!("{} {}", command, subcommand)
}

5. Early returns over nesting

// ❌ Deeply nested
fn filter(input: &str) -> Option<String> {
    if !input.is_empty() {
        if let Some(line) = input.lines().next() {
            if line.starts_with("error") {
                return Some(line.to_string());
            }
        }
    }
    None
}

// ✅ Early return
fn filter(input: &str) -> Option<String> {
    if input.is_empty() { return None; }
    let line = input.lines().next()?;
    if !line.starts_with("error") { return None; }
    Some(line.to_string())
}

6. Avoid redundant clones

// ❌ Unnecessary clone
fn filter_output(input: &str) -> String {
    let s = input.to_string();  // Pointless clone
    s.lines().filter(|l| !l.is_empty()).collect::<Vec<_>>().join("\n")
}

// ✅ Work with &str
fn filter_output(input: &str) -> String {
    input.lines().filter(|l| !l.is_empty()).collect::<Vec<_>>().join("\n")
}

7. Use if let for single-variant match

// ❌ Full match for one variant
match output {
    Ok(s) => process(&s),
    Err(_) => {},
}

// ✅ if let (but still handle errors in RTCO — don't silently drop)
if let Ok(s) = output {
    process(&s);
}
// Note: in RTCO filters, always handle Err with eprintln! + fallback

RTCO-Specific Checks

Run these after simplification:

# Verify no regressions
cargo fmt --all && cargo clippy --all-targets && cargo test

# Verify no new regex in functions
grep -n "Regex::new" src/<file>.rs
# All should be inside lazy_static! blocks

# Verify no new unwrap in production
grep -n "\.unwrap()" src/<file>.rs
# Should only appear inside #[cfg(test)] blocks

What NOT to Simplify

• lazy_static! { static ref RE: Regex = Regex::new(...).unwrap(); } — the .unwrap() here is acceptable, it's init-time
• .context("description")? chains — verbose but required
• The fallback match arm Err(e) => { eprintln!(...); raw_output } — looks redundant but is the safety net
• std::process::exit(code) at end of run() — looks like it could be Ok(())but it isn't