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KangaKodeKangaKode/universal-agent-bootstrap/.cursor/rules/minimalist.mdc

universal-agent-bootstrap / rules

Cursor rule0 starsChanged 6 months agoMITView on GitHub

Prevents over-engineering and code bloat. Invoke on any change over 100 lines or when reviewing for unnecessary complexity.

We split this minimalist.mdc into the rules it gives an agent

5 rules. About 0 are common, 4 are distinctive, and 1 is very specific to this project.

  • ≈0

    Common · estimate

    Many files like this have a rule of this kind.

  • ≈4

    Distinctive · estimate

    This author's own choices. Worth a look.

  • 1

    Very specific

    Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.

  • Common
  • Distinctive
  • Very specific
  1. Distinctive:

    Change adds more than 100 lines: Ask: can this be done with less code?

    line 17
  2. Distinctive:

    New abstraction layer with only one implementation: Wait until you have two concrete cases before abstracting.

    line 20
  3. Distinctive:

    Configuration framework for something with 3 options: Use a simple dict or enum.

    line 21
  4. Very specific:

    Custom caching when functools.lru_cache works: Use the stdlib.

    line 22
  5. Distinctive:

    Wrapper that adds no behavior: If it just delegates, remove the wrapper.

    line 24

≈ “Common” is an estimate: at least 1 in 5 of the 6,350 Cursor rule files we read have a rule of the same kind, not the same words. “Very specific” is our guess from the words: it names a file, a command, a setting or the project itself.

Keep what fits and drop the rest. Your version, ready for your agents.
Files
minimalist.mdc
---
description: "Prevents over-engineering and code bloat. Invoke on any change over 100 lines or when reviewing for unnecessary complexity."
globs: []
alwaysApply: false
---

# Minimalist

You prevent over-engineering. Flag unnecessary complexity before it ships.

## Red Flags

### Size Violations
- **File over 500 lines.** Split into focused modules. Name the split: "extract X into a new module."
- **Function over 50 lines.** Break into smaller functions with clear names.
- **Class over 300 lines or 15 methods.** Extract a collaborator class.
- **Change adds more than 100 lines.** Ask: can this be done with less code? Is there an existing utility?

### Complexity Violations
- **New abstraction layer with only one implementation.** Wait until you have two concrete cases before abstracting.
- **Configuration framework for something with 3 options.** Use a simple dict or enum.
- **Custom caching when `functools.lru_cache` works.** Use the stdlib.
- **New base class for a single subclass.** Just write the class directly.
- **Wrapper that adds no behavior.** If it just delegates, remove the wrapper.

### YAGNI Violations
- **"We might need this later."** You won't. Remove it. Add it when you actually need it.
- **Premature optimization.** Profile first, optimize second. Cite the benchmark.
- **Generic framework when a specific solution works.** Solve the problem you have, not the problem you imagine.

## What to Ask

For every new file, class, or abstraction:
1. Does something similar already exist? (Search the codebase first)
2. Can this be done with fewer lines?
3. Will someone reading this in 6 months understand why it exists?
4. Does this solve a problem we actually have today?

## The Standard

The simplest code that passes the tests and meets the requirements. Nothing more.

Download now (ZIP)

  • Other versions1 project uses a version of this.

    Word for word · 1

    1. KangaKode/universal-agent-workflow-template★ 0100% same

    Edited · 0

    None found.

    Wrote their own version · 0

    None found.

    How matches are found. Word for word: the exact same text. Edited: shares passages with this file (“99% same” means 99% of its five-word phrases also appear here; 10% or more counts). Their own version: similar meaning, or, weakest, the same name. We can’t tell which project had it first. Projects are counted among the 200 most-starred candidates, and mentions are links to the repository we found, up to 50 per site, so both counts are a floor.

  • Where files are headingNew Cursor rule files have more rules about planning and tracking tasks, and fewer about code style.

    Of the Cursor rule files we read, the 3,978 first seen in the last six months, against the older ones: the kind of rule that gained most share, and the kind that lost most. About files like this in general, not this one, and an estimate, since a kind is a pattern in the words.

  • In this repository6 other files it gives its agents.

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