Simplicity first

Overview

AI agents trend toward complexity. They add abstractions "for flexibility," error handling for impossible cases, and configuration for things that will never change. Left unchecked, they turn 50-line solutions into 500-line systems.

This skill enforces a hard constraint: write the minimum code that solves the stated problem and nothing more.

Andrej Karpathy's observation: "They really like to overcomplicate code and APIs, bloat abstractions, don't clean up dead code... implement a bloated construction over 1000 lines when 100 would do."

When to Use

• Starting any new implementation
• When you feel the urge to add "just one more abstraction"
• When reviewing your own generated code
• When a simple task balloons into a complex solution

Process

Step 1: Define the Minimum Viable Solution

1. State what the code must do — write it as a list of requirements.
2. For each potential addition, ask: "Was this explicitly requested?"
   • If no → do not add it.
3. Write the simplest possible implementation that satisfies each requirement.

Verify: You can trace every line of code back to a stated requirement.

Step 2: Apply the Simplicity Test

4. After writing, read through the code and flag:

   • Abstractions used only once → inline them
   • Parameters never customized → hardcode them
   • Error handling for impossible scenarios → remove it
   • "Future-proofing" that wasn't asked for → delete it
   • Configuration flags for things that won't vary → remove them

5. Ask: "Would a senior engineer call this overcomplicated?" If yes, simplify.

Verify: Each abstraction is used in at least 2 places; each parameter is actually varied.

Step 3: Count the Lines

6. If your solution is more than 3× the length you'd expect for the task, something is wrong.
7. Actively look for ways to reduce line count without sacrificing readability.

Rule of thumb: If 200 lines could be 50, rewrite it.

Verify: You've made at least one active attempt to reduce complexity.

Step 4: Verify Functional Correctness

8. Run the tests. All pass?
9. Manually check the primary use case.
10. Check that no pre-existing tests regressed.

Verify: All tests pass. No regressions.

Common Rationalizations (and Rebuttals)

Excuse	Rebuttal
"We might need this later"	YAGNI. Add it when you need it. Unused code is a liability.
"The abstraction makes it more flexible"	Flexibility you don't need adds complexity you always pay for.
"I'm following the existing patterns"	Don't cargo-cult complex patterns into simple contexts.
"It's only a few more lines"	Every extra line is a line to maintain, debug, and understand.
"This is more robust"	Robust against what? Name the failure mode you're defending against.

Red Flags

• You added a factory for a class that's instantiated once
• You added configuration for values that never change
• You wrote error handling for an operation that cannot fail
• The abstraction layer is larger than the code it abstracts
• You added a parameter "just in case"
• Your PR adds 400 lines but the feature is 40 lines of actual logic

Verification

• Every line traces back to a stated requirement
• No speculative features added
• All abstractions used in 2+ places
• No error handling for impossible scenarios
• Line count is proportional to task complexity
• All tests pass

References

• surgical-changes skill
• refactoring skill
• YAGNI principle — Martin Fowler