simplify

simplify

Find and apply simplification opportunities in the codebase or a specific area.

Instructions

1. Identify the scope - specific files, a module, or a broader area
2. Analyze the code looking for:
   • Duplicate code that can be extracted into shared functions
   • Dead code that is never called or referenced
   • Over-abstraction where indirection adds complexity without value
   • Unnecessary wrappers around simple operations
   • Complex conditionals that can be flattened or simplified
   • Unused dependencies or imports
3. Prioritize by impact: prefer changes that remove the most code with the least risk
4. Present findings to the user before making changes
5. Apply changes incrementally - one simplification at a time
6. Run superpowers:requesting-code-review after changes to verify quality

Principles

• Three similar lines of code is better than a premature abstraction
• Only simplify what exists - don't redesign for hypothetical futures
• Removing code is the best simplification
• If a "simplification" makes the code harder to understand, it's not simpler

Examples

Simplify a specific module

User: /simplify the secmaster sync code
Claude: Analyzing ssmd/internal/secmaster/...
Found 3 opportunities:
1. bulkUpsertEvents and bulkUpsertMarkets share 80% identical batching logic - extract shared batchInsert helper
2. Dead code: unused formatMarketName function (removed in refactor but never deleted)
3. Three separate error-wrapping patterns - standardize on one

Broad codebase scan

User: /simplify
Claude: What area should I focus on? (specific files, a module, or the whole project?)