Less Is More

An architecture-first instruction set for coding agents.

Less accidental complexity. More evidence. More ownership clarity.

Less Is More helps agents make safer, cleaner, more current code changes by forcing a stronger workflow before they edit:

• inspect the real local baseline
• verify unstable facts from current primary sources
• trace the owning code path before proposing a fix
• treat hesitation as a signal to investigate further
• compare nearby explanations and realistic fixes
• choose the clearest justified outcome, not the first workable patch

The Problem

Coding agents often fail in predictable ways:

• they make silent assumptions and code past uncertainty
• they patch the nearest symptom instead of the owning code path
• they trust stale framework knowledge or old examples
• they add abstractions, helpers, or "flexibility" before it is earned
• they produce plausible changes that are harder to explain than the problem itself

The Approach

Less Is More is not "write fewer lines no matter what."

It means:

• less accidental complexity
• less duplicate state
• less confused ownership
• less speculative abstraction
• fewer changes made on weak evidence

The goal is a system that is easier to inspect, explain, change, and trust.

What Makes It Different

Many instruction files focus on behavior in the abstract. Less Is More is a workflow.

It pushes the agent to:

• start from the real repo state instead of memory
• verify time-sensitive facts against current primary sources
• look for the real owner of the behavior before editing
• challenge the leading diagnosis when confidence is incomplete
• prefer deletion, consolidation, or reshaping when those produce a stronger result
• stop when evidence is weak instead of forcing motion

The key idea is simple:

Treat hesitation as a signal, not a speed bump.

If the diagnosis is still soft, the answer is usually not a bigger patch. The answer is better investigation.

Files

• skills/less-is-more/SKILL.md: installable skill
• CLAUDE.md: portable root instruction file
• .cursor/rules/less-is-more.mdc: Cursor project rule
• EXAMPLES.md: short examples of the workflow in practice

Install

Skills CLI

Install it with:

npx skills add https://github.com/oddyblue/less-is-more-skill --skill less-is-more

You can also try the shorthand form:

npx skills add oddyblue/less-is-more-skill --skill less-is-more

Codex

Copy skills/less-is-more into your Codex skills directory, typically:

~/.codex/skills/less-is-more

Claude Code

Copy or merge CLAUDE.md into your project instruction file.

Cursor

Copy .cursor/rules/less-is-more.mdc into your project's .cursor/rules/ directory.

How To Know It's Working

These guidelines are working if you see:

• fewer speculative abstractions and fewer drive-by edits
• more fixes landing in the real owner instead of a nearby symptom
• more current, source-backed decisions on unstable facts
• smaller diffs that are easier to defend
• clarifying questions or deeper investigation before mistakes, not after them

Tradeoff

Less Is More biases toward rigor over speed on non-trivial work.

That is intentional. It should reduce expensive mistakes, not slow down obvious one-line edits with unnecessary ceremony.

Examples

See EXAMPLES.md for concrete before-and-after behavior.

License

MIT