/streamline

name: streamline
description: "Use when the workflow feels too complex, has accumulated cruft, or has redundant steps and overlapping tools that need consolidation."
argument-hint: "[target area]"
category: fix
version: 2.0.0
user-invocable: true

MANDATORY PREPARATION

Invoke /agent-workflow — it contains workflow principles, anti-patterns, and the **Context Gathering Protocol**. Follow the protocol before proceeding — if no workflow context exists yet, you MUST run /teach-maestro first. Consult the agent-architecture reference in the agent-workflow skill for complexity assessment and topology simplification.

---

Reduce complexity without reducing capability. Every component should earn its place.

Streamlining Analysis

For each component, ask:

1. **Does this add measurable value?** If you can't name the specific value, remove it. 2. **Can this be combined with another component?** Merge overlapping responsibilities. 3. **Is this solving a real problem or an imagined one?** Remove speculative complexity. 4. **Would a simpler alternative work?** Prefer simplicity over elegance.

Common Streamlining Targets

**Pipeline Steps**

• Remove steps that transform data without changing it meaningfully
• Combine sequential steps that could be one prompt
• Eliminate validation steps that duplicate downstream validation

**Tool Consolidation**

• Merge tools that operate on the same data with different filters
• Remove tools the model never selects (check usage logs)
• Combine read tools with similar signatures

**Prompt Simplification**

• Remove instructions the model follows by default
• Consolidate redundant constraints
• Shorten few-shot examples to minimum viable length

**Configuration Reduction**

• Remove config parameters that always use the default
• Hardcode values that never change between environments
• Merge related config into logical groups

Streamlining Report

For each recommendation:

1. **What to remove/simplify** — specific component or code 2. **Why it's safe** — what ensures functionality is preserved 3. **Expected impact** — latency reduction, cost reduction, or maintainability improvement

Complexity Score

| Component | Current | Minimal Viable | Action | |-----------|---------|---------------|--------| | Pipeline steps | ? | ? | Remove/merge ? | | Tools | ? | ? | Consolidate ? | | Config params | ? | ? | Remove ? | | Agent count | ? | ? | Collapse ? |

Streamlining Checklist

• [ ] Each component justified with concrete value
• [ ] Redundant steps identified and marked for removal
• [ ] Tool usage logs checked for never-used tools
• [ ] Golden test set passes after each simplification
• [ ] No safety guardrails, logging, or error handling removed

Recommended Next Step

After streamlining, run `/evaluate` to verify functionality is preserved, then `/refine` for final polish.

**NEVER**:

• Remove error handling in the name of simplicity
• Streamline without verifying the golden test set still passes
• Remove logging or observability
• Simplify below the level of correctness
• Remove safety guardrails