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---
name: principle-subtract-before-you-add
description: "Subtract before you add. Apply when ordering an addition, a refactor or a rewrite."
license: MIT
metadata:
source: "pstack principle-subtract-before-you-add, MIT, Copyright (c) 2026 Lauren Tan, github.com/cursor/plugins, adapted; checked against pstack 0.15.36 at commit 0bb6f37"
---
<!-- Generated by scripts/build.mjs from the sources; edit the source, then run npm run build. -->
# Subtract before you add
When you change a system, remove complexity first, then build. Default to subtraction.
Treat simplification as a continual investment. Leave the design a little simpler, and a little more capable, behind the same or a smaller surface than you found it.
- Remove before you construct.
- Cut before you polish: get to the minimum before you invest in quality.
- Design for observed usage, not speculative edge cases.
- No speculative validators, parsers or guards beyond what the specification demands.
- Simplify instructions and prompts: remove redundant lines and excess templates.
- When a reference has no content of its own, delete it rather than leaving a stub.
**Stop** subtracting when the next removal would change behaviour the specification asks for. Report that instead.
