zero-tech-debt
Skill79 starsChanged 27 days agoMITView on GitHub
Rework a change as if the intended UX and architecture existed from day one, deleting compatibility cruft and accidental complexity. Use when the user asks to remove tech debt, clean up a patch, or rework a change to its intended end state.
8 other projects use a version of this, 6 of them edited.
Adopted by
Most recently taken up by
- trycompai/crmedited, first seen Oct 8, 2026
- lithammer/aiedited, first seen Oct 8, 2026
- prefapp/skillstheir own version, first seen Oct 4, 2026
- darkroomengineering/cc-settingsedited, first seen Sep 24, 2026
- possibilities/agentguidancetheir own version, first seen Sep 5, 2026
- jnsahaj/skillsedited, first seen Jul 1, 2026
Used with
Projects with it also use retro, prototype and 1 more.
Other files people use alongside this one.
Files found in the same public projects as a version of this one, more often than they turn up anywhere else. Each project counts once, large collections count for less, and this file's own repository is left out.
AWSSkillretro
Conduct a retrospective on a coding session.
Also in 3 projects that use this
GoogleSkillprototype
Build a throwaway prototype to answer a design question. Use when the user wants to sanity-check whether a state model or logic feels right, or explore what a UI should look like.
Also in 3 projects that use this
MicrosoftSkillhandoff
Compact the current conversation into a handoff document for another agent to pick up.
Also in 3 projects that use this
Other versions8 projects use a version of this.
Word for word · 0
None found.
Edited · 6
- trycompai/crm★ 12k97% same
- jnsahaj/skills★ 10597% same
- darkroomengineering/cc-settings★ 5225% same
- erik-kroon/skills★ 127% same
- susomejias/skills★ 139% same
- lithammer/ai★ 096% same
Wrote their own version · 2
- prefapp/skills★ 1same name
- possibilities/agentguidance★ 0same name
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.
In this repository4 other files it gives its agents.
- david-workflowSkill
- effect-best-practicesSkill
- effect-reviewSkill
- effect-review-v4Skill
The file
We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent
6 rules. 4 are common, 2 are distinctive, and 0 are very specific to this project.
4
Common
Most of the 8 edited versions we read keep these.
2
Distinctive
This author's own choices. Worth a look.
0
Very specific
Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.
- Common
- Distinctive
- Very specific
- Distinctive: line 14
Search for real callers before preserving compatibility.
- Common: line 17
Verify the intended flow. Test the new behavior and any deleted assumptions that affect navigation, permissions, or persisted state.
- Distinctive: line 22
Delete dead compatibility paths instead of making them better.
- Common: line 23
Do not invent a generic framework for one feature.
- Common: line 24
Keep the refactor scoped to what makes the final shape coherent.
- Common: line 25
Prefer names that describe product intent over implementation history.
“Common” is measured: kept by at least 6 in 10 of the 8 edited versions of this file we could read. “Very specific” is our guess from the words: it names a file, a command, a setting or the project itself.
Files
Zero Tech Debt
Rework the change from the intended end state, not from the historical path that produced the current patch.
Steps
- State the intended end state in one or two sentences.
- Search for real callers before preserving compatibility. If a mode, prop, wrapper, route alias, or fallback has no current caller, delete it.
- Reshape around the final product surface. Prefer one clear component or flow over mode flags. Split only when it creates an obvious boundary such as state, layout, controls, or domain commands.
- Move shared rules to one place. Feature flags, permissions, route gating, URL state, and command naming should not be duplicated across pages or hidden in view components.
- Verify the intended flow. Test the new behavior and any deleted assumptions that affect navigation, permissions, or persisted state.
Rules
- Optimize for the code that should exist, not the smallest diff from the old shape.
- Delete dead compatibility paths instead of making them better.
- Do not invent a generic framework for one feature.
- Keep the refactor scoped to what makes the final shape coherent.
- Prefer names that describe product intent over implementation history.
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Your trail
Files you open will collect here, so you can find them again.
Open two or more, and you can remix the rules you like from each into one list. Kept in this browser only.
Now do this for your own.
Bring your CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md or skills. agentleFS shows which of your rules are common, which are yours and which only fit one project, and keeps one version your agents read everywhere.