Simplify and clean up code after changes are complete. Reduces complexity, improves readability, and ensures consistency.
Scanned 9/3/2026
Install to Claude Code
npx -y skills add brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills --skill code-simplifier --agent claude-codeInstalls into .claude/skills of the current project.
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---
name: code-simplifier
description: Simplify and clean up code after changes are complete. Reduces complexity, improves readability, and ensures consistency.
workflow_stage: engineering
compatibility:
- claude-code
- cursor
- codex
- gemini-cli
author: Awesome Econ AI Community
version: 1.0.0
disable-model-invocation: true
tags:
- refactoring
- python
- readability
---
# Code Simplifier
Clean up and simplify code after making changes.
## When to Use
Run this skill after completing a feature or fix to ensure the code is clean, readable, and maintainable.
## Simplification Goals
### Reduce Complexity
- Break long functions into smaller, focused ones
- Reduce nesting depth (max 3 levels)
- Simplify complex conditionals
- Extract magic numbers to named constants
### Improve Readability
- Use descriptive variable and function names
- Add clarifying comments for non-obvious logic
- Ensure consistent formatting
- Remove unnecessary comments
### Apply Pythonic Patterns
- Use list/dict/set comprehensions where appropriate
- Use `with` statements for resource management
- Use `enumerate()` instead of manual indexing
- Use `zip()` for parallel iteration
- Use f-strings for formatting
- Use `pathlib` for file paths
### Clean Up
- Remove unused imports
- Remove unused variables
- Remove commented-out code
- Remove redundant code paths
- Consolidate duplicate logic
## Workflow
1. **Identify Changed Files**
- Focus on files modified in the current session
- Or specify files/directories as arguments
2. **Analyze Each File**
- Check for simplification opportunities
- Prioritize high-impact improvements
3. **Apply Simplifications**
- Make incremental changes
- Preserve original behavior
- Run tests after each change
4. **Format and Lint**
- Run `ruff format .`
- Run `ruff check --fix .`
5. **Verify**
- Run tests: `pytest`
- Ensure behavior unchanged
## Arguments
Optionally specify files or directories to simplify.
Usage:
- `/code-simplifier` - Simplify recently changed files
- `/code-simplifier src/module.py` - Simplify specific file
- `/code-simplifier src/` - Simplify entire directory
## Example Transformations
Before:
```python
result = []
for i in range(len(items)):
if items[i].is_valid == True:
result.append(items[i].value)
```
After:
```python
result = [item.value for item in items if item.is_valid]
```
Before:
```python
if x != None:
if y != None:
if z != None:
process(x, y, z)
```
After:
```python
if all(v is not None for v in (x, y, z)):
process(x, y, z)
```
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