slime-code-review-preferences

name	slime-code-review-preferences
description	Use when reviewing or editing slime code, especially refactors around helper APIs, branch selection, argument validation, or recurring reviewer preferences about avoiding unnecessary wrappers and making control flow self-explanatory.

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.