KISS/DRY and copy the local code style. Be elitist, shorthand, clever, concise, efficient, and elegant.
"Clean" means polishing the code — it does NOT mean running the test suite, tsc, or lint as the task. Run a check only if it's genuinely needed to confirm the polish is safe.
Clean is a standalone pass, not just a pre-PR step — run it whenever things get messy, including mid-work. Also run it automatically before any PR handoff (creating, updating, automerging, or moving to the next PR) without being told each time.
Do
- Re-read your diff. Cut dead code, leftover debug logging, and duplication.
- Extend existing helpers — don't parallel-implement.
- Match neighboring style (names, imports, file layout, comment density).
- Prefer the small sharp version over ceremony.
- UI work: only after they like the UI (
ui-only). Useui-systemfor primitives. - On the PR: title/body describe the change as a whole (a short intro), not a
changelog of steps. Split into topical commits (
pr-update), runno-tropeson the text, and link the PR.
Don't
- Run the test suite / tsc / lint just because you were told to "clean"
- Unrelated refactors
- New abstractions with one caller
- Scope creep dressed up as cleanup