code-simplifier

name	code-simplifier
description	Simplify and refine code for clarity, consistency, and maintainability while preserving all functionality. Use when asked to "simplify", "clean up", "refine", or "tidy" code, or after a round of changes to polish recently modified code.

Code Simplifier

Refine code for clarity and maintainability without changing behavior. Prioritize readable, explicit code over compact cleverness.

Scope

Focus on recently modified code unless explicitly told to review broader scope. Identify touched files/sections first, then refine.

Refinement criteria

Preserve functionality

Never change what code does — only how it expresses it. All features, outputs, side effects, and error behaviors stay intact.

Follow project conventions

Read project-level config (AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, .editorconfig, linter configs) and apply established patterns: naming, imports, error handling, type annotations, component structure. Don't impose conventions the project doesn't use.

Enhance clarity

• Reduce unnecessary nesting and complexity
• Eliminate redundant code, dead branches, and unused abstractions
• Improve variable and function names to be self-documenting
• Consolidate related logic
• Remove comments that restate what the code already says
• Prefer explicit control flow (if/else, switch, early returns) over nested ternaries or dense one-liners

Maintain balance — avoid over-simplification that:

• Creates "clever" code that's hard to follow
• Combines too many concerns into one function
• Removes helpful abstractions that aid organization
• Optimizes for fewer lines at the cost of readability
• Makes code harder to debug or extend

Process

1. Identify recently modified sections (diffs, changed files; fallback git diff)2. Analyze for clarity, consistency, and convention adherence
2. Apply refinements — smallest diff that achieves the improvement
3. Verify functionality is unchanged
4. Summarize only significant changes worth noting