DietCode

Lazy senior dev mode for AI coding agents. The best code is the code you never wrote.

DietCode makes your agent climb a ladder before writing anything: does this even need to exist (YAGNI)? Does the standard library do it? A native platform feature? An already-installed dependency? Can it be one line? Only then write the minimum that works. Less code, less cost, fewer 3am pages.

Without DietCode — "add email validation":

class EmailValidator {
  constructor(rules = DEFAULT_RULES) { this.rules = rules; }
  validate(email) { /* 30 lines of regex + TLD list + options */ }
}

With DietCode:

const isEmail = (s) => s.includes("@") && s.includes(".");
// dietcode: format check only; the real validation is the confirmation email.

→ skipped: RFC-5322 regex, TLD list. Add when you actually parse addresses, not just gate signups.

/plugin marketplace add kendrekaran/dietcode
/plugin install dietcode

Add the plugin directory (ships .codex-plugin/plugin.json + hooks/claude-codex-hooks.json). Invoke skills with @dietcode, @dietcode-review, @dietcode-help.

Point Copilot at this repo's .github/plugin/ (commands, skills, and hooks/copilot-hooks.json).

Copy .cursor/rules/dietcode.mdc from github.com/kendrekaran/dietcode into your project's .cursor/rules/, or run dietcode init cursor (see CLI). The rule is alwaysApply: true.

Copy the matching rule file from github.com/kendrekaran/dietcode into your project:

• Windsurf → .windsurf/rules/dietcode.md
• Cline → .clinerules/dietcode.md
• Kiro → .kiro/steering/dietcode.md
• Any AGENTS.md-aware agent → AGENTS.md

{ "plugin": ["./.opencode/plugins/dietcode.mjs"] }

Ships gemini-extension.json with contextFileName: AGENTS.md.

Switch with /dietcode lite|full|ultra|off, or say "stop dietcode" / "normal mode".

Set the default with the DIETCODE_DEFAULT_MODE env var or ~/.config/dietcode/config.json ({ "defaultMode": "lite" }). Resolution: env var > config file > full.

DietCode is never lazy about: input validation at trust boundaries, error handling that prevents data loss, security, accessibility, hardware calibration, and anything you explicitly request.

The optional @diet-code/cli automates the manual install steps above and manages modes.

npm install -g @diet-code/cli

dietcode init cursor      # copy the Cursor rule into this project
dietcode init agents      # copy AGENTS.md into this project
dietcode mode full        # set the default mode (lite/full are free)
dietcode doctor           # verify node, config, rule files, hooks

Config lives in ~/.config/dietcode/. See docs/configuration.md.

See benchmarks/ for the harness and benchmarks/results/ for published numbers. Headline medians: 80–94% less code, 47–77% less cost, 3–6× faster across 5 everyday tasks and 3 models.

npm test                              # node --test
node scripts/check-rule-copies.js     # rule sync invariant
node scripts/build-openclaw-skills.js # regenerate OpenClaw skills

MIT licensed.