Simplify Code

Vendored from compound-engineering-plugin under MIT. Renamed simplify-code; Cursor Task for parallel review.

Simplify Code

Simplify changed code for clarity and consistency without changing behavior. Prefer readable, explicit code over overly compact solutions.

Step 1: Identify Scope

1. User-named scope wins — do not widen
2. In git: default to git diff origin/main... (or upstream base); else git diff HEAD
3. No diff: most recently modified files in conversation
4. Empty scope: ask user — do not guess

Step 2: Parallel Review (3 lenses)

Run three reviews on the same diff. In Cursor, use one message with three Task calls (or sequential if Task unavailable):

Lens 1 — Reuse

• Existing utilities that replace new code?
• Duplicate functions vs similar patterns elsewhere?
• Inline logic that should call existing helpers?

Lens 2 — Quality

Flag: redundant state, parameter sprawl, copy-paste variants, leaky abstractions, stringly-typed constants, deep nesting (3+ levels), comments that narrate WHAT not WHY, dead code/unused imports.

Balance: fewer lines ≠ goal; faster comprehension = goal. Do not inline named helpers or remove abstractions used for testing without checking git blame.

Lens 3 — Efficiency

Flag: redundant work, missed parallelism, hot-path bloat, no-op updates in loops, TOCTOU existence checks, unbounded structures, overly broad reads.

Step 3: Fix

Aggregate findings; fix directly. Skip false positives silently. Each fix must preserve behavior — if unsure, skip.

Step 4: Verify

• Run project lint + typecheck (if configured)
• Run tests scoped to changed paths; broaden if shared utilities changed
• Report failures with command output — do not weaken assertions to pass

Step 5: Summarize

What was already good vs improved; which checks ran and results. If no changes needed, say so.

Integration

Use after executing-plans / feature work, before PR, with verification-before-completion.