| name | simplify-review |
| description | Code review focused exclusively on over-engineering. Finds what to delete or shrink: reinvented standard library, unneeded dependencies, speculative abstractions, dead flexibility. One line per finding: location, what to cut, what replaces it. List-only, does not apply fixes. Use when the user says "is this over-engineered", "what can we delete from this diff", "simplify review", "review for complexity", or invokes /simplify-review. Complements review-pull-request (correctness) and refactor-pass (applies + verifies).
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Simplify Review
Review a diff for unnecessary complexity. One line per finding: location, what
to cut, what replaces it. The diff's best outcome is getting shorter.
Scope
Over-engineering and complexity only. This is a distinct lens from:
review-pull-request = correctness, security, breaking changes, perf.refactor-pass = applies changes and runs build/tests to verify.
This skill lists what could be cut. It applies nothing.
Workflow
- Get the diff. Explicit ref/r range, else the working tree:
git diff or
git diff <base>...HEAD. If the diff is empty or missing, STOP and report
the error. Never review on an empty diff.
- Filter noise. Skip generated, vendored, lock files (
*.min.js, *.lock,
dist/, build/, vendor/, node_modules/, *_pb2.py, images). Note
them changed, do not review.
- Hunt over-engineering in what was added or changed. One line per finding.
- End with the score. Stop.
Tags
<location>: <tag>: <what to cut>. <replacement>.
delete = dead code, unused flexibility, speculative feature, wrapper that
only delegates. Replacement: nothing.stdlib = hand-rolled thing the standard library ships. Name the function.native = dependency or code doing what the platform already does. Name the
feature.yagni = abstraction with one implementation, config nobody sets, layer with
one caller.shrink = same logic, fewer lines. Show the shorter form.
Examples
Avoid hedging prose ("this might be more complex than necessary, have you
considered..."). State the cut:
L12-38: stdlib: 27-line email validator class. "@" in email is 1 line; real validation is the confirmation mail.
L4: native: moment.js imported for one format call. Intl.DateTimeFormat, 0 deps.
repo.py:88: yagni: AbstractRepository with one implementation. Inline it until a second one exists.
L52-71: delete: retry wrapper around an idempotent local call. Nothing replaces it.
L30-44: shrink: manual loop builds dict. dict(zip(keys, values)), 1 line.
Scoring
End with the only metric that matters: net: -<N> lines possible.
Nothing to cut: Lean already. Ship. and stop.
Boundaries
Scope: over-engineering and complexity only. Correctness bugs, security holes,
and performance are out of scope. Route them to review-pull-request, do not
mix them in here. A single smoke test, assert-based self-check, or one small
test is the minimum check, not bloat; never flag it for deletion. "stop
simplify-review" or "normal mode": revert to verbose review style.
