kmshdev/plugins/code-simplifier

Community Code Simplification Best Practices

Comprehensive code simplification guide for AI agents and LLMs. Contains 47 rules across 8 categories, prioritized by impact from critical (context discovery, behavior preservation) to incremental (language idioms). Each rule includes detailed explanations, real-world examples comparing incorrect vs. correct implementations, and specific impact metrics.

Core Principles

1. Context First: Understand project conventions before making any changes
2. Behavior Preservation: Change how code is written, never what it does
3. Scope Discipline: Focus on recently modified code, keep diffs small
4. Clarity Over Brevity: Explicit, readable code beats clever one-liners

When to Apply

Reference these guidelines when:

• Simplifying or cleaning up recently modified code
• Reducing nesting, complexity, or duplication
• Improving naming and readability
• Applying language-specific idiomatic patterns
• Reviewing code for maintainability issues

Rule Categories by Priority

Reference routing

Use the category table above to choose a topic. Open the rule index only to locate the specific rule, then read that rule’s reference file.

Workflow

1. Discover context: Read CLAUDE.md, lint configs, examine existing patterns
2. Identify scope: Focus on recently modified code unless asked to expand
3. Apply transformations: Use rules in priority order (CRITICAL first)
4. Verify behavior: Ensure outputs, errors, and side effects remain identical
5. Keep diffs minimal: Small, focused changes that are easy to review

How to Use

Read individual reference files for detailed explanations and code examples:

• Section definitions - Category structure and impact levels
• Rule template - Template for adding new rules

Reference Files