Agent skill
skill-code-simplifier
Automatically refine and simplify skill content while preserving functionality. Based on Anthropic's code-simplifier pattern. Enhances clarity, enforces standards, reduces verbosity, eliminates redundancy, and maintains balance between brevity and understanding. Operates autonomously on recent changes. Use after editing skills or before packaging.
Install this agent skill to your Project
npx add-skill https://github.com/majiayu000/claude-skill-registry/tree/main/skills/other/other/skill-code-simplifier
SKILL.md
Skill Code Simplifier
Automatically refine and simplify skills while preserving all functionality (inspired by Anthropic's code-simplifier).
Prerequisites
- Python 3.8+
- Git (for tracking changes)
- Skills library
Core Principles
1. Preserve Functionality: Never change what the skill teaches - only how it teaches it
2. Apply Standards: Follow skill-template.md best practices:
- Use numbered steps with time estimates
- Include validation with expected outputs
- Provide executable commands (no pseudo-code)
- Maintain consistent frontmatter
- Use kebab-case naming
3. Enhance Clarity:
- Reduce unnecessary verbosity
- Eliminate redundant examples
- Improve command readability
- Consolidate related workflows
- IMPORTANT: Avoid nested instructions - prefer flat numbered steps
4. Maintain Balance: Avoid over-simplification that removes helpful context
5. Focus Scope: Only refine recently modified skills
Quick Start
1. Simplify a Skill (2 min)
python3 scripts/simplify-skill.py ~/Skills_librairie/skills/postgres-backup
# Output:
# Analyzing postgres-backup...
#
# Simplifications made:
# - Reduced step 2 from 8 lines to 5 lines (-38%)
# - Removed redundant explanation in Prerequisites
# - Consolidated 3 similar examples into 1
# - Standardized time estimates (5 minutes → 5 min)
#
# Before: 1,245 words, 8,450 tokens
# After: 892 words, 6,150 tokens (-27%)
#
# Functionality preserved: ✓
2. Review Changes (1 min)
# See what changed
git diff skills/postgres-backup/SKILL.md
3. Accept or Revert
# Accept changes
git add skills/postgres-backup/SKILL.md
git commit -m "Simplify postgres-backup skill"
# Or revert
git checkout skills/postgres-backup/SKILL.md
Simplification Patterns
Pattern 1: Remove Redundant Explanations
Before:
### Install Docker
You need to install Docker on your system. Docker is a containerization platform.
To install it, you should first update your package manager, then add the Docker
repository, and finally install Docker using apt. This process typically takes about
5 minutes depending on your internet speed.
```bash
sudo apt update
sudo apt install docker.io
After installation, you should verify that Docker is installed correctly by checking the version.
**After:**
```markdown
### 1. Install Docker (5 min)
```bash
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y docker.io
# Verify
docker --version
# Expected: Docker version 24.0.x
**Reductions:**
- 82 words → 22 words (73% shorter)
- Self-documenting commands
- Expected output shown
- Time estimate in heading
### Pattern 2: Consolidate Similar Examples
**Before:**
```markdown
Example 1: Backup to local disk
```bash
pg_dump mydb > backup.sql
Example 2: Backup to local disk with date
pg_dump mydb > backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).sql
Example 3: Backup to local disk with compression
pg_dump mydb | gzip > backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).sql.gz
**After:**
```markdown
```bash
# Basic backup
pg_dump mydb > backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).sql
# With compression (recommended)
pg_dump mydb | gzip > backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).sql.gz
### Pattern 3: Simplify Command Explanations
**Before:**
```markdown
The next step is to set the DATABASE_URL environment variable which contains the connection
string to your PostgreSQL database. This should include the username, password, host, port,
and database name in the format shown below.
After:
Set database connection:
Context provided by command itself:
export DATABASE_URL="postgres://user:pass@localhost:5432/dbname"
Pattern 4: Flatten Nested Instructions
Before:
1. Install PostgreSQL
- First, update packages
- Run apt update
- Then run apt upgrade
- Next, install PostgreSQL
- Use apt install
- Verify with psql --version
After:
1. Install PostgreSQL (5 min)
```bash
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y postgresql
psql --version
# Expected: psql (PostgreSQL) 14.x
## Automatic Triggers
```bash
# Run on save (via file watcher)
python3 scripts/simplify-skill.py --watch ~/Skills_librairie/skills
# Run on commit (pre-commit hook)
# .git/hooks/pre-commit:
for skill in $(git diff --cached --name-only | grep SKILL.md); do
python3 scripts/simplify-skill.py "$(dirname $skill)"
done
# Run before packaging
python3 scripts/simplify-skill.py skills/* --batch
Metrics
# Show metrics before/after
python3 scripts/simplify-skill.py skill-path --metrics
# Output:
# Complexity Metrics:
#
# Before simplification:
# - Total words: 1,845
# - Total tokens: 12,340
# - Avg sentence length: 28 words
# - Nested sections: 5
# - Redundant patterns: 8
#
# After simplification:
# - Total words: 1,120 (-39%)
# - Total tokens: 7,680 (-38%)
# - Avg sentence length: 19 words
# - Nested sections: 0
# - Redundant patterns: 0
#
# Improvements:
# ✓ More concise
# ✓ Better readability
# ✓ Preserved all functionality
Safety Checks
Before applying changes, verifies:
- Commands still executable: All bash blocks valid
- Links still work: No broken references
- Metadata preserved: Frontmatter intact
- Sections present: Required sections remain
- Examples valid: Code blocks syntactically correct
# Dry run (show changes without applying)
python3 scripts/simplify-skill.py skill-path --dry-run
# Apply only safe changes
python3 scripts/simplify-skill.py skill-path --safe-only
# Require manual approval
python3 scripts/simplify-skill.py skill-path --interactive
Configuration
# .simplifier-config.yml
rules:
max_sentence_length: 25
remove_obvious_comments: true
consolidate_examples: true
flatten_nested_sections: true
standardize_time_format: true
preserv e:
- frontmatter
- code_blocks
- troubleshooting_sections
- validation_steps
aggressive_mode: false # More conservative by default
Reference Files
- scripts/simplify-skill.py - Main simplification engine
- scripts/analyze-complexity.py - Complexity metrics
- references/simplification-patterns.md - Common patterns
- references/style-guide.md - Enforced standards
- assets/config-template.yml - Configuration options
Related Skills
- skill-quality-auditor - Check quality after simplification
- skill-consistency-enforcer - Enforce style guide
- skill-code-simplifier - Based on Anthropic's code-simplifier
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