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Minimal Diff

Make the smallest correct change.

Prefer edits that keep behavior scoped, touch fewer lines, and avoid unrelated churn.

When to Use

• The user wants a focused fix or feature without cleanup noise.
• You are tempted to refactor surrounding code that does not need to change.
• You want a commit that is easy to review and easy to revert.
• You are updating existing code and need to preserve local conventions.

Workflow

Step 1: Find the narrowest change surface

• Change the smallest existing unit that can safely solve the task.
• Prefer editing an existing function, condition, or data structure over introducing new files or abstractions.
• Reuse existing helpers before adding new ones.

Step 2: Avoid churn

• Do not refactor between equivalent forms unless it clearly improves correctness or readability.
• Do not rename, reorder, reformat, or move code unless the task requires it.
• Do not "clean up" adjacent code in the same change.
• Keep to file-local style and patterns.

Step 3: Prefer deletion over addition

• Remove dead branches, duplicate lines, and no-longer-needed code when they are directly caused by the change.
• Prefer fewer moving parts over new wrappers, flags, or one-off helpers.
• Three clear lines are better than a fresh abstraction used once.

Step 4: Split behavior changes from refactors

• If a refactor is truly needed, keep it minimal and make it obvious why.
• If the task allows it, separate structural cleanup from behavior changes.
• Do not bundle speculative improvements into the same commit.

Step 5: Review the diff before finishing

Check the final diff and ask:

1. Can any touched line stay unchanged?
2. Did I touch any file that did not need to change?
3. Did I introduce a helper, abstraction, or rename that only saves a few local lines?
4. Did I change formatting or surrounding code unrelated to the task?
5. Would a reviewer immediately understand why every changed line exists?

If the answer suggests unnecessary churn, reduce the diff.

Rules

• Preserve correctness first. Smallest diff does not justify risky code.
• Prefer editing existing code over adding new code.
• Prefer local duplication over premature abstraction when the abstraction is single-use.
• Keep tests scoped to the behavior that changed.
• Do not expand the task on your own.
• If a larger refactor is required, say so explicitly instead of smuggling it into a small change.

Resources

• references/principles.md - External principles behind this skill

Common Issues

Issue: The smallest change looks repetitive.

• Keep the repetitive version if the abstraction would only be used once and the local code stays readable.

Issue: Nearby code is messy.

• Leave it alone unless it blocks the requested change or causes a correctness issue.

Issue: A refactor seems necessary.

• Make the minimum refactor needed to unlock the fix, and keep the rest out of scope.