Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Simplify Codebase Audit agent skill
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The simplify-codebase skill gives an AI coding agent a specific job: find code that makes a project harder to maintain without providing value, such as dead code, duplicate state, redundant APIs or layers, abstractions nobody owns, and outdated compatibility code. This guide explains what an agent skill is, how to install this one, how to trigger it with plain requests, and how to use its two modes safely. By the end you will be able to run a read-only audit and, if you choose, approve a targeted cleanup.
Simplify Codebase Audittt-a1i/archify · Apache-2.0 Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download and unzip. Download the ZIP from this page and unzip it so the simplify-codebase folder containing SKILL.md is in place.
- 2Choose the install location. Put the folder in ~/.claude/skills/ for all projects, or in the project's .claude/skills/ for one repository. Alternatively, upload it under Settings → Capabilities → Skills in the Claude apps.
- 3Prepare the repository. Commit or stash unrelated work so the agent's edits can be separated from your own changes.
- 4Start with a survey. Ask for an audit of a named subsystem. The agent stays read-only and returns ranked evidence for each candidate.
- 5Review the ranked candidates. Read the proof records, including the consequence, confidence and proof check for each one. Decide which candidates to pursue.
- 6Approve a targeted change. Ask for a specific cut within a named scope, and say explicitly that edits are authorized.
- 7Check the validation report. Read which validation layers passed. Run your own tests and review the diff before merging.
What is an agent skill and what does this one do?
An agent skill is a folder of instructions that an AI agent loads when a request matches the skill's description. The main file is SKILL.md, and this skill adds reference files that the agent reads for deeper topics such as investigation method, boundaries and lifecycle, decision records, and recovery.
The skill's stated objective is to remove accidental complexity, meaning the number of concepts and obligations a codebase must keep coherent. Line-count reduction is supporting evidence, not the goal. The skill can also conclude that the code it inspected is already justified, and that is a valid result.
- Finds candidates for deletion or consolidation with ranked evidence
- Traces how each suspect piece of code is reached before judging it
- Keeps security, authorization, data-loss protection and stored-format compatibility intact
- Works in any language, and the description also lists the Chinese terms 代码简化 and 熵回收 as triggers
Install the simplify-codebase skill
Download the ZIP for this skill from this page. Unzip it so that the simplify-codebase folder, containing SKILL.md, sits in one of the locations below. Use a personal location if you want the skill in every project, or a project location if you want it only in one repository.
You can also upload the skill in the Claude apps. Open Settings, go to Capabilities, then Skills, and upload the skill there.
- Personal install: place the folder in ~/.claude/skills/
- Project install: place the folder in the project's .claude/skills/ directory
- Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload
Trigger the skill with natural requests
You do not need a special command. Describe what you want in plain language, and the agent matches your request against the skill's description. The skill is meant for simplification audits and for authorized simplification work.
Use words that describe finding or removing accidental complexity. Name the subsystem if you can, because the skill works best on a bounded area. If you only want a review of bugs or style, ask for that directly instead, since the skill is not meant for general code review.
- Survey examples: "Audit the billing module for dead code and redundant layers, and rank what you find."
- Survey examples: "Find duplicate state and abstractions nobody owns in the sync subsystem."
- Change examples: "Remove the unused v1 compatibility helpers in the upload path. Go ahead and make the edits."
- Change examples: "Consolidate the two config loaders in src/config into one. Make the change and run the project tests."
Choose between survey mode and change mode
The skill has two authority modes. Survey mode is the default for audit, investigation and candidate-finding requests. It stays read-only and returns ranked evidence. Change mode is used only for explicit requests to simplify, remove, consolidate, refactor, or edit repository documentation. In change mode the agent proves each cut, implements it within the scope you authorized, and validates the result.
The skill also states that deleting a reachable capability, supported interface, stored representation, or compatibility path is a product decision. In that case the agent describes the consequence and asks for direction unless you have already chosen it.
- Survey mode: read-only, returns ranked proof records, rejected leads and the facts still needed
- Change mode: edits files only after an explicit request, and reports which validation layers passed
- Focused scope: one named subsystem, symbol or dependency
- Broad scope: the whole repository or several candidates at once
What the skill needs before you run it
Give the agent a repository to inspect. Version control is strongly useful because the skill is asked to preserve unrelated work, and a clean history makes any change easy to review or undo. For change mode, the project's own test and build commands are needed so the agent can verify its edits. The agent runtime must be able to read files and, for change mode, edit them.
The skill's own notes say a narrow green check does not prove runtime behaviour, so change mode is best used on code with solid test coverage.
- A repository to inspect
- Version control, ideally available
- The project's own test and build commands for change mode
- An agent runtime that can read files, and edit them in change mode
Safety notes: scripts and network access
According to the skill's listing, it does not run scripts and does not use the network. Its work consists of reading files, tracing code paths and, in change mode, editing files and running the project's own checks.
Because change mode edits code, review the agent's diff before you accept it. Keep unrelated work committed or stashed so the agent's edits are easy to separate.
- Runs scripts: no
- Uses network: no
- Change mode edits files, so check the diff and keep version control clean
What people use it for
- Finding dead code and unused helpers in a mature codebase before a cleanup sprint
- Getting an evidence-based list of simplification candidates before deciding what to cut
- Consolidating duplicate state or two overlapping config loaders in one subsystem
- Removing an obsolete compatibility path after confirming no consumer still depends on it
- Reviewing whether an abstraction nobody owns still has real callers
Frequently asked questions
How do I install the simplify-codebase skill?
Download the ZIP from this page and unzip it so the simplify-codebase folder sits in ~/.claude/skills/ or in your project's .claude/skills/ directory. You can also upload it in the Claude apps under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
Is the simplify-codebase skill free to use?
The listing states the licence is Apache-2.0. The page does not list a price, so check the source repository for licence terms before you rely on it commercially.
What does the simplify-codebase skill require?
It needs a repository to inspect, ideally under version control. For change mode it also needs the project's own test and build commands and an agent runtime that can read and edit files.
Does the simplify-codebase skill run scripts or use the network?
According to the listing, it runs no scripts and uses no network access. Its work is reading code and, in change mode, editing files and running the project's own checks.
Can the skill delete code automatically?
Only in change mode, and only after you explicitly ask for changes within a scope you authorize. Deleting a reachable capability or compatibility path needs your direction, and the agent is instructed to describe the consequence first.
Why won't the skill do a general code review or style cleanup?
The skill is scoped to accidental complexity. Its description says not to use it for general code review, onboarding, style-only refactoring or performance tuning, because those tasks need a different approach.
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Our verdict
Use this skill if you maintain a mature codebase and suspect accumulated dead code or redundant layers, or if you want a ranked, evidence-backed list of candidates before deciding what to cut. Pick something else if you need general code review, style cleanup, performance tuning or onboarding documentation, or if you want automatic changes on code with weak test coverage.
Download the skill