Subtract Before You Add

When evolving a system, remove complexity first, then build.

Why: Adding to a complex system compounds complexity. Removing first leaves less code, reveals the essential structure, and usually makes the next design obvious. Default to subtraction.

Make simplification a continual investment. Leave the design slightly simpler and more capable behind the same or smaller surface than you found it.

The pattern:

• Sequence removal before construction
• Cut before you polish (get to the minimum before investing in quality)
• Design for observed usage, not speculative edge cases
• No speculative validators, parsers, or guards beyond what the spec demands
• Simplify prompts (remove redundant instructions, excessive templates)
• When a reference has no novel content, delete it rather than leaving a stub

pitwall adaptation

• Under port, move-only or ratchet: behaviour stays identical, scope is the task’s files only (~8), and variants still in use keep their branches. A removal or redesign this principle suggests becomes a /pitwall:ticket, not part of the PR.