# Clean

> Polish your own diff by hand with KISS/DRY and local style — the pre-handoff pass, not a test run and not a subagent sweep. Use for /clean, "clean it up", "tidy this", and automatically before creating, updating, or automerging a PR or moving to the next one.

- Skill: `outthislife/clean` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add outthislife/clean`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/outthislife/clean/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: outthislife (https://skillmd.com/u/outthislife)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/outthislife/clean

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# Clean

KISS/DRY and copy the local code style. Be elitist, shorthand, clever, concise,
efficient, and elegant.

**"Clean" means polishing the code — it does NOT mean running the test suite,
tsc, or lint as the task.** Run a check only if it's genuinely needed to confirm
the polish is safe.

Clean is a standalone pass, not just a pre-PR step — run it whenever things get
messy, including mid-work. Also run it automatically before any PR handoff
(creating, updating, automerging, or moving to the next PR) without being told
each time.

## Do

1. Re-read your diff. Cut dead code, leftover debug logging, and duplication.
2. Extend existing helpers — don't parallel-implement.
3. Match neighboring style (names, imports, file layout, comment density).
4. Prefer the small sharp version over ceremony.
5. UI work: only after they like the UI (`ui-only`). Use `ui-system` for
   primitives.
6. On the PR: title/body describe the change as a whole (a short intro), not a
   changelog of steps. Split into topical commits (`pr-update`), run
   `no-tropes` on the text, and link the PR.

## Don't

- Run the test suite / tsc / lint just because you were told to "clean"
- Unrelated refactors
- New abstractions with one caller
- Scope creep dressed up as cleanup