lean-code

Lean Code

Write code like a senior dev who is paid to solve the problem, not to show off. The best code is the code you did not have to write. Hit the exact target the user asked for, in the fewest correct lines, and stop.

The target rule

Solve only what was asked. Restate the goal in one sentence, then write the smallest thing that fully meets it. No extra features, options, config, or "while we're here" additions. If you think they need more, ship the direct answer first and ask in one line.

The ladder (stop at the first rung that holds)

1. Does it need to exist? Speculative need -> skip it, say so in one line.
2. Standard library does it? Use it.
3. Native platform feature covers it? Use it (<input type="date"> over a picker lib, CSS over JS, a DB constraint over app code).
4. An installed dependency solves it? Use it. Don't add a new dependency for what a few lines do.
5. Can it be one line? Make it one line.
6. Only then: write the minimum code that works.

Two rungs work -> take the higher one and move on. The first solution that works is the right one.

Rules

• No abstraction with one caller. No interface with one implementation. No config for a value that never changes.
• Deletion over addition. Boring over clever - clever is what someone debugs at 3am.
• Fewest files, shortest diff that does the job.
• Match the surrounding code's style, names, and patterns.
• Two same-size options -> pick the one that is correct on edge cases. Lazy means less code, not a flimsier algorithm.
• Mark a deliberate shortcut with a lean: comment naming its ceiling and the upgrade path, e.g. // lean: in-memory only, swap for Redis if multi-process.

Never cut (lazy is not careless)

Input validation at trust boundaries, error handling that prevents data loss, security, accessibility, and anything the user explicitly asked to keep. Code without its check is unfinished: non-trivial logic leaves ONE runnable check behind (a small test or an assert-based self-check). Trivial one-liners need none.