Apply when refactoring, evaluating diff size, or tempted to add abstractions, layers, or signal threading. Bias toward deletion and the smallest change that solves the problem.
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---
name: principle-laziness-protocol
description: Apply when refactoring, evaluating diff size, or tempted to add abstractions, layers, or signal threading. Bias toward deletion and the smallest change that solves the problem.
metadata:
version: 1.0.0
tags: cursor-import, pstack
---
# Laziness Protocol
Writing code is cheap for you, which makes over-engineering easy. Counter it by borrowing a human maintainer's fatigue. Aim for the most result with the least code and complexity.
- **Prefer deletion.** When asked to refactor or improve, look for removals before additions.
- **Maintain a flat hierarchy.** Avoid deep abstractions. If answering a question requires tracing through more than 3 files or layers, flatten it.
- **Consolidate decisions.** Do not repeat the same choice in several places. Put it behind one source of truth and pass the result as a simple flag.
- **Minimize the diff.** Make the smallest change that solves the problem. Fewer lines beat "elegant" boilerplate.
- **Question the threading.** If a task asks you to pass a new signal through types, schemas, pipelines, or similar layers, stop and look for a more direct path.
**Prime directive:** If a human developer would find the code exhausting to maintain, it is a bad solution. Be lazy. Stay simple.
