write code like someone will inherit it

2025-07-21

nothing breaks faster than code no one’s expected to touch

don’t write code assuming you’ll be the last one to see it. don’t assume you’ll be around to explain it.

this isn’t a journal. it’s a message. to someone who’ll be staring at this years from now. maybe that someone is you.

leave no ambiguity. if something “goes without saying,” say it anyway. don’t make the next dev guess. don’t make them ask why.

your variable name can be long. your function name can be obvious. your comment isn’t clutter. it’s context. explain your thinking while it’s fresh.

the parts no one sees matter most. that’s where discipline lives. it doesn’t show up in the UI. but it seeps into everything. and people feel it, even if they can’t name it.

your code doesn’t need a personality. no clever tricks. no ego. just consistency. clarity over cleverness. certainty over speed.

don’t keep code just because it feels wasteful to delete. delete it if it doesn’t belong. if you leave it, own it. write like this needs to run without you.

you shouldn’t need handoff docs. the code should tell the story. even in silence.

so when you come back to it later, you won’t have to say “please tell me i didn’t write this.”