simplify-code — fewer moving parts, same contract

Use this when the code already works and the desired change is easier reasoning, not new behaviour. The output is a smaller or clearer implementation plus proof that callers cannot tell the difference.

Default scope is the files or symbols the user named, or the recently changed slice. Expanding into adjacent cleanup requires a concrete dependency and must be stated. Never “clean the whole repository” as a side effect.

The equivalence loop

BOUND → CHARACTERIZE → BASELINE → REDUCE → VERIFY → EXPLAIN

1. BOUND the work

Record: