/kiss

Use this when

You are about to ship something and the scope feels bloated, or you are drafting a doc and the prose feels dense. /kiss compresses one or the other.

Skip this when

You are writing code. /kiss operates on scope and prose only. For code simplicity, see /simplify or /pattern-review.

scope mode — reads what you are about to ship and returns a MUST / SHOULD / COULD bucket split. You keep MUST. You defer SHOULD. You drop COULD. Default when the input is a ticket, goal doc, or scope proposal.

words mode — reads a paragraph or file and rewrites it at grade-8 reading level. Substitutes bassclef-internal jargon and buzz words for plain English per a wordlist. Default when the input is prose.

/kiss                    # detects mode from input
/kiss scope              # force scope mode
/kiss words              # force words mode
/kiss words --rewrite    # apply rewrites in-place

What scope mode does

Reads the last thing you named as scope (a ticket body, a plan doc, a goal doc). Runs /value-prop brief on it inline to establish the core claim. Then buckets everything else against that claim:

MUST — the work that makes the claim true
SHOULD — the work that sharpens the claim
COULD — the work that is adjacent but not load-bearing

You get the bucket table. You edit the scope down to MUST. Ships faster; buys fewer regrets.

What words mode does

Runs a two-layer check against the input prose:

Vocabulary substitution — replaces BLOCK-tier words per standards/bassclef-internal-jargon.md (composer -> runs; primitive -> building block; load-bearing -> actually used).
Six heuristic checks — passive voice, hyphen words, long sentences, non-SVO openers, noun stacks, adverb density.

Returns a diff. With --rewrite, applies the diff to the file. Without, just prints the suggested changes.

Composes with

/state-a-problem runs /kiss words inline by default
/value-prop runs /kiss words on the output claim
/journal uses /kiss words when drafting for external audiences

When `/kiss` returns no changes

Your prose is already clean. That means either you have been at this for a while, or the input was short. Neither is a problem.

Where next

/state-a-problem — draft a Problem section
/value-prop — write claims at 4 sizes
/journal — draft a journal entry