Agent skill

code-simplifying

Simplify and refine code for clarity, consistency, and maintainability. Use when asked to simplify code, reduce complexity, remove duplication, improve readability, refactor for clarity, or clean up messy code. Triggers on requests like "simplify this", "clean up this code", "make this more readable", "reduce complexity", or "refactor for clarity".

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npx add-skill https://github.com/majiayu000/claude-skill-registry/tree/main/skills/other/code-simplifying

SKILL.md

Code Simplifying

Analyze and simplify code to improve clarity, reduce complexity, and enhance maintainability.

Process

  1. Identify the target code - Read the file(s) to be simplified
  2. Analyze complexity indicators:
    • Deeply nested conditionals (>3 levels)
    • Long functions (>50 lines)
    • Duplicated logic
    • Complex boolean expressions
    • Unclear variable/function names
    • Mixed concerns in single functions
  3. Apply simplification techniques
  4. Verify behavior preserved - Run tests if available

Simplification Techniques

Extract and Name

typescript
// Before: unclear intent
if (user.role === 'admin' || (user.role === 'editor' && resource.authorId === user.id)) {

// After: named condition
const canEdit = user.role === 'admin' || (user.role === 'editor' && resource.authorId === user.id);
if (canEdit) {

Early Returns

typescript
// Before: nested
function process(data) {
  if (data) {
    if (data.valid) {
      return transform(data);
    }
  }
  return null;
}

// After: early returns
function process(data) {
  if (!data) return null;
  if (!data.valid) return null;
  return transform(data);
}

Extract Functions

typescript
// Before: inline logic
const articles = data.map(item => ({
  id: item.id,
  title: item.title.trim(),
  slug: item.title.toLowerCase().replace(/\s+/g, '-'),
  date: new Date(item.created_at).toISOString(),
}));

// After: extracted transformer
function toArticle(item) {
  return {
    id: item.id,
    title: item.title.trim(),
    slug: slugify(item.title),
    date: formatDate(item.created_at),
  };
}
const articles = data.map(toArticle);

Reduce Nesting with Object Lookups

typescript
// Before: switch statement
switch (status) {
  case 'draft': return 'gray';
  case 'published': return 'green';
  case 'archived': return 'red';
  default: return 'gray';
}

// After: object lookup
const statusColors = { draft: 'gray', published: 'green', archived: 'red' };
return statusColors[status] ?? 'gray';

Consolidate Conditionals

typescript
// Before: repeated conditions
if (type === 'image') handleImage(file);
if (type === 'video') handleVideo(file);
if (type === 'document') handleDocument(file);

// After: handler map
const handlers = { image: handleImage, video: handleVideo, document: handleDocument };
handlers[type]?.(file);

Project-Specific Patterns

For this Next.js/Cloudflare project:

  • API routes: Use the auth middleware pattern consistently (requireAdmin, requireEditor, etc.)
  • Database queries: Prefer parameterized queries, extract common query patterns
  • React components: Keep components focused, extract hooks for shared logic
  • Error handling: Use consistent error response format { success: false, error: string }

Output

After simplifying, provide:

  1. Summary of changes made
  2. Complexity reduction metrics (if measurable)
  3. Any trade-offs or considerations

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