Simplify Your Agent's Code: Orwellian Review Skill

Where this fits

You've built an agent that writes code. It runs tests, passes them, and declares success. But when you open the diff, you see variables like reconcileTemporalData and comments that say "// Normalize the input for coalescing purposes." The logic works, but the human review feels like slogging through jargon. The simplify skill solves this by applying George Orwell's writing rules to your agent's code, automatically cleaning naming and comments before you ever see the diff.

Why agents benefit

• Self-review before human handoff: The agent can run simplify on its own changes, catching verbose names and passive voice before requesting a review.
• Enforces active, concrete language: Orwell's rules (short words, active voice, cutting unnecessary words) produce code that reads like prose, not abstract algebra.
• Behavior-preserving edits: The skill only touches word choice and comments, and it runs existing checks afterward to guarantee nothing breaks.
• Triggers automatically: Once code is verified as working, the skill fires without requiring human prompting—streamlining the agent's workflow.
• Reduces review cycles: Cleaner diffs mean fewer back-and-forth comments with human reviewers, speeding up merge times.

Practical scenarios

Before a pull request

Your agent finishes a feature branch. After running tests, it invokes simplify to reword comments and variable names across the changed files. You review a diff that says users.removeInactive() instead of users.reconcileInactiveAccounts().

While writing new comments

During development, your agent writes a comment on a tricky algorithm. Instead of "This function iterates through the collection to ascertain the maximum value," it writes "Find the max value." The agent adopts the skill's rules as a default for any prose it produces.

During maintenance refactors

When your agent modifies legacy code, it applies simplify to just the touched lines, upgrading cryptic names without rewriting unrelated sections. The existing test suite confirms no behavior change.

Add it to your agent workflow

Install the skill with:

npx skills add bholmesdev/skills --skill simplify

Then tell your agent: "After you verify your solution works, run the simplify skill on the changed files before presenting the changes." The skill will review the scope you specify—typically the current branch—and modify only those lines.

Compare before adopting

Before adding this skill, check its quality signals: 167 stars on GitHub, recent commit activity, and whether it aligns with your agent's code style. Compare it to other review skills that focus on formatting or linting—this one targets clarity specifically. Also consider if your agent already produces concise names; if so, the value may be marginal.

Why it is worth tracking

With 167 stars, simplify shows steady community interest. It's a specialized but practical tool that grows more useful as your agent's code output scales. Keep an eye on updates, as the maintainer regularly tunes the Orwellian heuristics. If you've ever found yourself wishing your agent would write "send" instead of "transmit," this skill is worth a trial. For more details and the full skill definition, see the skill page.