Core principle. Bias toward deletion and the smallest change that solves the problem.
Applies when refactoring, sizing a diff, or tempted to add abstractions, layers, or signal threading. The negative space of most agent frameworks: where others optimize for throughput, pstack treats a smaller diff as the win condition. pstack-arena cites it as the tie-breaker when two candidates score level — prefer the cleaner boundary or smaller API.
See Also
- pstack-poteto-mode — indexes this principle inline and reads the index at task start.
- pstack — the twenty-three-principle set this belongs to.