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Agent skill

Code Simplifier

by FoundationDB in FoundationDB/fdb-record-layer

Simplifies and refines recently modified code for clarity, consistency, and maintainability while preserving all functionality.

Apache-2.0Auto-check passedDevelopment

Install Code Simplifier

skills CLI
$ npx skills add FoundationDB/fdb-record-layer --skill code-simplifier -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install FoundationDB/fdb-record-layer code-simplifier --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/FoundationDB/fdb-record-layer.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/code-simplifier .claude/skills/code-simplifier && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
code-simplifier
GitHub stars
675
Token cost
~485 tokens
SKILL.md length
216 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
10
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
Apache-2.0

At a glance

Simplifies and refines recently modified code for clarity, consistency, and maintainability while preserving all functionality.

  • Works in 5 steps: Preserve functionality: Never change… → Apply project standards: Follow… → Enhance clarity → …
  • Tasks that involve Code simplification
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Code Simplifier is an agent skill from FoundationDB/fdb-record-layer. Simplifies and refines recently modified code for clarity, consistency, and maintainability while preserving all functionality. Some example usages: "Simplify the code I just wrote" "Clean up the changes in EmbeddedRelationalStatement"

Its SKILL.md is about 490 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in Development, covering Code simplification. The repository describes itself as: A relational database with SQL support built on FoundationDB. The licence is Apache-2.0.

When your agent uses it

  • Tasks that involve Code simplification

Example prompts

  • “Simplify the code I just wrote”
  • “Clean up the changes in EmbeddedRelationalStatement”
  • “Use the code-simplifier skill to simplify and refines recently modified code for clarity, consistency, and maintainability while preserving all…”
  • “/code-simplifier”

Workflow steps

5 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. Preserve functionality: Never change what the code does — only how it does it.
  2. Apply project standards: Follow frl-coding-standard. In particular
  3. Enhance clarity
  4. Maintain balance: Do not over-simplify. Avoid
  5. Scope: Only refine code that has been recently modified or touched in the current

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit f266052. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Code Simplifier loads about 485 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 63 tokens; SKILL.md has 216 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~63
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~485

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from FoundationDB/fdb-record-layer at commit f266052, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© FoundationDB). 216 words, ~485 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/code-simplifier/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
code-simplifier
description
Simplifies and refines recently modified code for clarity, consistency, and maintainability while preserving all functionality. Some example usages: "Simplify the code I just wrote" "Clean up the changes in EmbeddedRelationalStatement"

Your goal is to improve clarity, consistency, and maintainability of recently modified code without altering its behavior.

Your refinements should:

  1. Preserve functionality: Never change what the code does — only how it does it.

  2. Apply project standards: Follow frl-coding-standard. In particular:

    • Exception messages must be static strings with structured context — see the skill for the correct API per layer (addLogInfo() vs addContext()).
    • KeyValueLogMessage.of() for log statements.
    • No join()/get() in production code.
    • Files end with a newline.

  3. Enhance clarity:

    • Reduce unnecessary nesting and complexity.
    • Eliminate redundant code and dead abstractions.
    • Improve variable and method names where they are unclear.
    • Consolidate related logic.
    • Remove comments that describe what the code obviously does — keep only comments that explain why.
    • Avoid nested ternary operators; prefer if/else or switch.

  4. Maintain balance: Do not over-simplify. Avoid:

    • Combining too many concerns into a single method.
    • Removing abstractions that genuinely improve organization.
    • Prioritizing fewer lines over readability.
    • Making code harder to debug or extend.

  5. Scope: Only refine code that has been recently modified or touched in the current session, unless explicitly asked to review a broader scope.

Process

  1. Identify recently modified code sections.
  2. Analyze for clarity, consistency, and standards compliance.
  3. Apply improvements.
  4. Verify all functionality is unchanged.
  5. Confirm the result is simpler and more maintainable.

© FoundationDB, Apache-2.0. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in .claude/skills/code-simplifier of FoundationDB/fdb-record-layer.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit f266052

Compare with similar skills

Code Simplifier next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Code Simplifier compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Code Simplifier this skillFoundationDB/fdb-record-layer675—~485Automated safety check: PassApache-2.0
PonytailDavidObando/gsharp5658 repos~1.7kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Ponytail Reviewkortix-ai/suna20k4 repos~593Automated safety check: PassCustom licence
Ponytail Lazy Developer ModeDietrichGebert/ponytail158k—~871Automated safety check: PassMIT
Code Simplification for ego-litecitrolabs/ego-lite17k—~1.2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Refactor Pass for Simplicitystar-history/star-history9.6k1 repos~168Automated safety check: PassMIT

Similar skills

  • Ponytail

    DavidObando/gsharp

    Forces the laziest solution that actually works, simplest, shortest, most minimal.

    565 GitHub starsUsed in 8 repos~1.7k tokens
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed

  • Ponytail Review

    kortix-ai/suna

    Code review focused exclusively on over-engineering. An agent skill from kortix-ai/suna.

    20k GitHub starsUsed in 4 repos~593 tokens
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  • Ponytail Lazy Developer Mode

    DietrichGebert/ponytail

    Makes the agent pick the laziest solution that works: skip unneeded work, reuse what exists, prefer the standard library and platform features, and keep diffs small.

    158k GitHub stars~871 tokensUpdated today
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  • Code Simplification for ego-lite

    citrolabs/ego-lite

    Finds and implements evidence-backed simplifications in the ego-lite repository, such as dead code, duplicated state and speculative abstractions, without hiding behavior changes.

    17k GitHub stars~1.2k tokensUpdated 15 days ago
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed

  • Refactor Pass for Simplicity

    star-history/star-history

    Perform a refactor pass focused on simplicity after recent changes. Use when the user asks for a refactor/cleanup pass, simplification, or dead-code removal…

    9.6k GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~168 tokens
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed

  • Over-Engineering Review

    DietrichGebert/ponytail

    Reviews a diff only for unnecessary complexity and lists what to delete or shrink, one numbered line per finding with the location, the cut and its replacement.

    158k GitHub stars~1.3k tokensUpdated today
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More from FoundationDB/fdb-record-layer

All 10 skills in this repo

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  • Using Gradle

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  • Context Resumption

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  • Docs Writer

    FoundationDB/fdb-record-layer

    Write or update documentation in docs/sphinx/source/. An agent skill from FoundationDB/fdb-record-layer.

    675 GitHub stars~925 tokensUpdated today
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  • Frl Coding Standard

    FoundationDB/fdb-record-layer

    Coding standards for all Java code in fdb-record-layer. An agent skill from FoundationDB/fdb-record-layer.

    675 GitHub stars~1.2k tokensUpdated today
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  • Frl Test Coding Standard

    FoundationDB/fdb-record-layer

    Standards for writing tests in fdb-record-layer. An agent skill from FoundationDB/fdb-record-layer.

    675 GitHub stars~792 tokensUpdated today
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Categories

Questions about Code Simplifier

What does Code Simplifier do?

Simplifies and refines recently modified code for clarity, consistency, and maintainability while preserving all functionality. Code Simplifier is an agent skill from FoundationDB/fdb-record-layer. Simplifies and refines recently modified code for clarity, consistency, and maintainability while preserving all functionality.

When should I use Code Simplifier?

Code Simplifier fits situations like: tasks that involve Code simplification.

How do I install Code Simplifier in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add FoundationDB/fdb-record-layer --skill code-simplifier -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.claude/skills/code-simplifier in FoundationDB/fdb-record-layer) into .claude/skills/code-simplifier in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Code Simplifier in Codex?

Run `npx skills add FoundationDB/fdb-record-layer --skill code-simplifier -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.claude/skills/code-simplifier in FoundationDB/fdb-record-layer) into .agents/skills/code-simplifier in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Code Simplifier in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add FoundationDB/fdb-record-layer --skill code-simplifier -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/code-simplifier, .gemini/skills/code-simplifier, .github/skills/code-simplifier and .opencode/skills/code-simplifier in your project.

What does Code Simplifier need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Code Simplifier is instructions for the agent only.

Does Code Simplifier access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Code Simplifier safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Code Simplifier use?

Code Simplifier is published under the Apache-2.0 licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Code Simplifier use?

About 485 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 1.9k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Code Simplifier?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Code Simplifier: Ponytail (DavidObando/gsharp, 565 stars), Ponytail Review (kortix-ai/suna, 20k stars), Ponytail Lazy Developer Mode (DietrichGebert/ponytail, 158k stars) and Code Simplification for ego-lite (citrolabs/ego-lite, 17k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Code Simplifier?

FoundationDB (a GitHub organization) maintains it in FoundationDB/fdb-record-layer, which has 675 GitHub stars. The repository holds 10 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 7, 2026.

Source: FoundationDB/fdb-record-layer on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.