Code Quality Principles

This is an always-on skill that enforces KISS, YAGNI, and SOLID principles during code reviews and refactoring. It gives you language-specific examples in Python, Rust, and TypeScript showing simple vs over-engineered approaches, and includes a quick reference table with red flags for each principle. The real value is in the "When Principles Conflict" section, which acknowledges that KISS sometimes beats SOLID on small projects and that YAGNI means you shouldn't add abstractions until you have multiple implementations. It's set to low complexity with a fast model hint, so it won't slow you down, and it integrates with the broader quality gates system if you're using that workflow.

skills.sh installs: 178
GitHub stars: 350
last updated: Aug 21, 2026

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Install

$ npx -y skills add athola/claude-night-market --skill code-quality-principles --agent claude-code

Installs into .claude/skills of the current project.

Files

Code Quality Principles

Guidance on KISS, YAGNI, and SOLID principles with language-specific examples.

When To Use

Improving code readability and maintainability
Applying SOLID, KISS, YAGNI principles during refactoring

When NOT To Use

Throwaway scripts or one-time data migrations
Performance-critical code where readability trades are justified

KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid)

Principle: Avoid unnecessary complexity. Prefer obvious solutions over clever ones.

Guidelines

Prefer	Avoid
Simple conditionals	Complex regex for simple checks
Explicit code	Magic numbers/strings
Standard patterns	Clever shortcuts
Direct solutions	Over-abstracted layers

Python Example

# Bad: Overly clever one-liner
users = [u for u in (db.get(id) for id in ids) if u and u.active and not u.banned]

# Good: Clear and readable
users = []
for user_id in ids:
    user = db.get(user_id)
    if user and user.active and not user.banned:
        users.append(user)