raiola-code-simplification

Raiola Code Simplification

Overview

This skill creates a dedicated lane for behavior-preserving cleanup so simplification does not get mixed with feature drift.

When to Use

• The code works, but the control flow or naming is heavier than needed
• Review findings point to clarity or maintainability issues
• You want a dedicated cleanup pass after feature work stabilizes

Workflow

1. Start with rai simplify --scope "...".
2. Understand the current behavior, callers, and verification surface first.
3. Simplify one concern at a time:
   • reduce nesting
   • extract clearer helpers
   • rename vague identifiers
   • remove dead branches only when proven safe
4. Re-run the relevant verification command after each slice.
5. Keep simplification separate from unrelated cleanup.

Common Rationalizations

Rationalization	Reality
"I'll clean this up while I add the feature."	Mixed intent makes regressions harder to spot and review.
"This abstraction might be useful later."	Future-proofing is not proof. Prefer the simplest code that serves the current slice.

Red Flags

• Simplification changes behavior without an updated verify story
• Cleanup sprawls into unrelated files
• Large rewrites happen without checkpoint-sized slices

Verification

• The scope stayed behavior-preserving
• Relevant verification was re-run
• The resulting code is easier to review and continue