Minimal Senior Code

Plan or write the smallest clear implementation that satisfies the task and the current codebase. Do not build for hypothetical future requirements.

Precedence

When these rules conflict, prefer:

1. Explicit behavior, acceptance criteria, and required correctness/security/data-integrity constraints.
2. Existing project conventions and architecture.
3. The minimality heuristics below.

Relationship to coding standards

This skill owns implementation scope, abstraction, trust boundaries, failure behavior, and the tests needed for changed behavior. Language and framework standards own syntax, naming, formatting, and established framework idioms.

A style preference does not by itself justify a new abstraction, dependency, configuration option, defensive branch, or unrelated refactor.

Keep the implementation direct