Agent skill · design visual · juliusbrussee
deepen
Optional design-improvement pass for when you have spare usage to drain. Finds the shallowest modules in the code the spec touches, researches a deeper design, and proposes refactors that shrink interfaces and hide decisions — behavior held constant, tests green before and after. Proposes §I/§V/§T edits, never silent rewrites. Triggers when the user says "deepen this", "improve the design", "this module feels shallow", "pull complexity down", "use spare budget on the codebase", or invokes /ck:deepen. Leans on the codebase-design skill's deep-module vocabulary when present.
Why this skill is useful
Provides a structured approach to refactoring that emphasizes design quality and interface simplification, which the AI may not generate on its own.
What it needs
About 3k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-06-18. 1,134 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
deepen — make modules deep Behavior is sacred: tests green before AND after. Every change shrinks an interface or hides a decision — deepen, don't churn. A deep module hides a lot behind a small interface; a shallow one's interface costs as much to use as writing the code yourself. Complexity = dependencies + obscurity, and it compounds. Deepen spends spare usage paying that down before it becomes a §B. Run it when the build is green & you have budget to drain — not under deadline. WHEN TO DEEPEN Build is green, tests pass, & you have token budget spare. A module's interface feels as complex as its implementation (shallow smell). The same change keeps touching many files (change amplification). User explicitly asks to improve design quality. ⊥ run mid-feature or under pressure. Deepen is the deliberate pass, not the reflex. FIVE STEPS 1. PICK THE SHALLOW Scan the modules the spec touches. Rank by shallowness — interface surface vs work done. Pick the one worst offender. Tells: Pass-through method that only forwards to one other (shallow layer). Caller must set 5 flags right to use it (config leakage). Same abstraction repeated at two layers (no information hiding). A ? or §B that traces back to a confusing interface. One module per pass. Deepening is surgical, ⊥ a codebase sweep. 2. DIAGNOSE Name the design defect in caveman, citing file:line: src/auth/token.go: 6-arg ctor leaks rotation policy to every caller. shallow. Complexity is real only if it shows: change amplification, high cognitive load, or an unknown-unknown (caller must know a hidden fact to call it right). 3. RESEARCH THE DEEPENING What does a deeper version look like? Pull a known pattern (hand to research for the external case → §R) or derive from the codebase's own better modules. Moves that deepen: Pull complexity down — hide the hard part inside, give callers the simple path. Define errors out of existence — design the interface so the edge can't occur. …
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills juliusbrussee/deepen