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Avoid Feature Creep

Keeps every change strictly inside the requested scope and routes extra ideas into a Suggestions list instead of the diff.

Dev & CodingBeginner★ 405⑂ 32AI score 9/10Last updated: Sep 28, 2026

What it does

Stops a small request from ballooning into a sprawling change.

  • Enforces one core rule: every line of the diff must trace back to a sentence in the ask.
  • Detects a dozen creep signals — "while we're here", unrequested config flags, adjacent refactors, tests/types for out-of-scope code, one-offs turned into abstractions.
  • Preserves good ideas by collecting them under a Suggestions heading in the summary or Out of scope in a PRD.
  • Gives PRD discipline: re-read the problem statement, cut, and split coherent leftovers into a second PRD.
  • Ships an 8-item pre-submit checklist, plus explicit handling of AI agents as scope-pushing stakeholders.

Who it's for

  • Developers tired of agents padding a bug fix with refactors, tests, and defensive code.
  • Tech leads and reviewers who want small, reviewable PRs.
  • PMs whose PRDs keep growing a "nice to have" tail.

Examples

  1. "Add a deletedAt field and hide deleted tasks from the list query" → schema line plus index only; softDelete, restore, and purge cron go to Suggestions.
  2. Mid bug-fix, an adjacent function looks messy: no refactor, just a one-line cleanup suggestion in the summary.
  3. PRD review: sections that don't serve the problem statement move to Out of scope with a one-line reason, or spin off as a separate PRD.

· · · Install guide · · ·

Try it now, no install

Paste this into Claude to use the skill without installing anything.

Read the instructions in this file and follow them to help me:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/waynesutton/builder-skills/HEAD/skills/avoid-feature-creep/SKILL.md

What I want: (describe your task here)

If Claude can't open the link, open it yourself and paste the contents instead.

↓ If it works for you, download the ZIP below and install it. Then it runs on its own — no pasting each time.

Install in the Claude app (no terminal)
  1. Download the ZIP with the button below.
  2. In Claude, open Settings → Capabilities and turn on 'Code execution and file creation'. (one time)
  3. Go to Customize → Skills → + → 'Upload a skill' and upload the ZIP.
↓ Download ZIP
Install in Claude Code

Let Claude do it — paste this into Claude Code

Install the skill I found on Claude Skill Mart.
Copy the skills/avoid-feature-creep folder from the GitHub repo waynesutton/builder-skills into my ~/.claude/skills/waynesutton-avoid-feature-creep/.
When it's done, tell me in one line what this skill can do.

Install with a command instead

git clone https://github.com/waynesutton/builder-skills.git /tmp/builder-skills && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r /tmp/builder-skills/skills/avoid-feature-creep ~/.claude/skills/

⚠ This is a third-party skill. Check the source repository before installing.

  1. Open a terminal.
  2. Clone the repo: git clone https://github.com/waynesutton/builder-skills.git
  3. Ensure the skills directory exists: mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
  4. Copy just this skill: cp -r builder-skills/skills/avoid-feature-creep ~/.claude/skills/
  5. Restart Claude Code and confirm avoid-feature-creep shows up in your skills list.
  6. Trigger it by stating scope up front, e.g. "just do what I asked" or "apply the no-feature-creep rules".
View source on GitHub ↗License: Apache-2.0