Minimal but Complete

CHANGE-MINIMAL-BUT-COMPLETE

Summary

Keep the diff as small as the purpose allows while including the evidence that purpose needs. Reviewers should see one coherent unit they can understand, validate, and revert.

Rule

Keep each change minimal but complete.

Why

A change that is too large hides risk, but a change that is too small can leave reviewers with an unexplained half-step. Minimal but complete means the diff has one purpose and enough code, tests, docs, and generated artifacts for that purpose to make sense.

Helps

Gives reviewers a coherent unit that can be understood, validated, and reverted.

Limits

Completeness depends on the purpose. A structure-only change may need no behavior tests, while a public API change may need docs, examples, and compatibility notes.

Agent Instruction

Keep each change minimal but complete because a change that is too large hides risk, but a change that
is too small can leave reviewers with an unexplained half-step.

Mechanisms

Supported by jj descriptions, focused validation, generated-artifact checks, PR summaries, and review checklists that ask whether the change can stand alone.