A practical collection of concise, language-agnostic checklists designed to help developers assess and improve code quality quickly. This resource offers structured, repeatable criteria for readability, maintainability, testability, and performance—empowering teams to conduct lightweight reviews, onboarding checks, and continuous improvement without slowing down delivery.
In the world of software craftsmanship, the goal isn't constant invention for its own sake; it's delivering reliable, readable, and resilient code. The Fat Free Code philosophy champions removing the fat—bloat, ambiguity, and needless complexity—so teams can move faster with confidence. Checklists become the trusted companions that surface questions before bugs do and invite teams to align on shared standards.
Historically, successful projects have leaned on explicit agreements: naming conventions that reflect intent, tests that guard behavior, and architectures that minimize cognitive load. This page translates those lessons into practical, bite-sized criteria you can apply in daily work—without heavyweight processes or ritual overhead.
Treat them as lightweight reviews you can run in a few minutes. Pair them with a quick before/after snapshot to demonstrate value, just as a great story arc shows transformation—from ambiguity to clarity, from bloat to lean, from risk to confidence.
Aimed at making code approachable at a glance—names that reveal intent, minimal nesting, and consistent style.
Focused on module boundaries, dependency management, and change impact.
Ensures that tests are reliable, fast, and maintainable.
Guardrails to identify bottlenecks without compromising clarity.
Before
A monolithic function with unclear variable names and hidden side effects that made maintenance a daily puzzle.
After
A concise, well-named set of functions with a clear boundary, no surprises, and easier tests—embodying lean, readable code.