Mk clean code

Clean Code — Pragmatic AI Coding Standards

Be concise, direct, and solution-focused.

For post-implementation complexity reduction within the current diff (Phase 3.5 workflow), use mk:simplify. mk:clean-code is for broader quality-standards enforcement at any phase.

Core Principles

Principle	Rule
SRP	Single Responsibility — each function/class does ONE thing
DRY	Don't Repeat Yourself — extract duplicates, reuse
KISS	Keep It Simple — simplest solution that works
YAGNI	You Aren't Gonna Need It — don't build unused features
Boy Scout	Leave code cleaner than you found it

Process

1. Read existing code — understand structure before changing
2. Check dependencies — what imports this file? what tests cover it?
3. Apply coding standards — load references/coding-standards.md for detailed rules
4. Self-check — goal met? all files edited? code works? no errors? nothing forgotten?
5. Run verification — execute agent-appropriate scripts from references

References

Reference	When to load	Content
coding-standards.md	Step 3 — applying standards	Naming, functions, structure, anti-patterns, verification scripts

Summary

Do	Don't
Write code directly	Write tutorials
Let code self-document	Add obvious comments
Fix bugs immediately	Explain the fix first
Inline small things	Create unnecessary files
Name things clearly	Use abbreviations
Keep functions small	Write 100+ line functions

The user wants working code, not a programming lesson.

Gotchas

• Over-abstracting simple code: Creating helpers for one-time operations violates YAGNI → Three similar lines are better than a premature abstraction
• Removing error handling deemed unnecessary: Stripping try-catch from system boundaries loses resilience → Only remove error handling for internal calls with guaranteed contracts