Your Python Codebase Doesn’t Need More Features — It Needs Fewer

Chasing features is killing your Python project. Here’s why deleting code might be the most productive thing you do this week.

Your Python Codebase Doesn’t Need More Features — It Needs Fewer
Photo by Andrew Furlan on Unsplash

Cutting features can be the best feature you ship.

Your Python Codebase Doesn’t Need More Features — It Needs Fewer

There’s a dangerous lie we tell ourselves as developers: that progress means adding features.

More endpoints. More flags. More toggles. More tools.

But if you’ve worked on a Python codebase that’s more than a few months old, you’ve probably seen the opposite: each new “must-have” feature slowly morphs the project into a brittle, bloated mess.

The sad truth? Most Python projects don’t suffer from a lack of features. They suffer from too many.

Here’s why you should stop building for a minute — and start cutting instead.


The Real Cost of “Just One More Feature”

Let’s say your team adds a new configuration flag for a specific customer request. Simple enough, right?

Now, you’ve introduced:

  • A conditional branch in your logic
  • Another path to test (or forget to test)
  • An extra bit of documentation to maintain
  • Another way for things to break

Multiply that by 10. Or 50. Or 200, if your project’s been around for years.

Suddenly, the codebase isn’t elegant Python anymore. It’s a spaghetti tower of if-statements and edge-case handlers, duct-taped together by last-minute Jira tickets.

And here’s the kicker: half of it won’t be used in six months.

The Myth of “Minimal Effort”

Developers (especially well-meaning ones) often think, “This will only take 10 lines of code.”

But we forget the hidden costs:

  • Maintenance: Every line of code you add today is technical debt tomorrow.
  • Complexity: More features = more interactions = more bugs.
  • Onboarding: Junior developers now need a flowchart just to understand a function.
  • Performance: Dead features bloat your runtime and memory usage.
  • Testing: More surface area means more things can go wrong — and will.

Simple Rule of Thumb

If you’re not willing to write tests and documentation for a feature, you probably shouldn’t be writing the feature.

When in Doubt, Cut It Out

A senior engineer once told me, “If you don’t feel a little bit scared deleting code, you’re not doing it right.”

Here’s a short checklist I use before adding new features:

  • Does this solve a core user problem, or just a hypothetical one?
  • Can this be done in user space instead of core logic?
  • Is this the third time I’ve seen this need — or the first?
  • Would I be willing to remove something else to make space for this?

If the answer to most of these isn’t a confident yes, that feature should go in the backlog graveyard — not the main branch.

Embrace the Power of Deletion

Want to actually improve your codebase this sprint? Try this:

1. Delete a Feature No One Uses

You probably already know what it is. It’s that CLI flag from 2021 or the “beta” config that’s been around forever. Check logs, usage metrics, or just gut-check with your team.

2. Trim Unused Dependencies

Python projects are notorious for accumulating libraries like lint on a black shirt.

Run tools like:

pip-autoremove <pkg> 
vulture .  # finds unused code

3. Simplify Your Interfaces

That function that takes six arguments? Refactor it. Collapse it. Wrap it.

The more complex your interfaces, the more ways things can go wrong.

4. Audit Your Settings and Flags

How many toggles are too many?

Hint: If you need a README section to explain your feature flags, you’re past the limit.

“But What If I Need That Feature Later?”

You probably won’t.

But if you do, Git remembers.

Version control exists so you don’t have to write in fear. Removing code isn’t the same as deleting it from history — it just means you’re not maintaining it today.

Think of your codebase like a garden. Removing old growth makes space for new ideas to thrive.

A Real-World Example: The 3x Speedup

At a past job, our Python service had grown over four years into a tangled mess of Django views, custom settings, legacy job queues, and abandoned admin features.

Instead of adding yet another internal dashboard, one engineer proposed a cleanup sprint.

They:

  • Removed 17 unused API endpoints
  • Dropped a legacy Redis job queue
  • Deleted over 1,200 lines of code

Result?

  • 3x faster deploy times
  • 90% test pass rate increase
  • Far easier onboarding for new team members

No new features. Just fewer.

Minimalism as a Codebase Strategy

Here’s a radical idea: Treat minimalism as a feature.

Good codebases:

  • Do fewer things, but do them reliably
  • Have fewer surprises, edge cases, and conditional branches
  • Prioritize clarity and simplicity over “power features”

Python’s philosophy aligns with this. “There should be one — and preferably only one — obvious way to do it.”

So why not extend that to your product logic?


Final Thought: Make Fewer Decisions, Better

Most developers don’t need more tools. Or more flags. Or more modules.

They need fewer distractions, fewer abstractions, and fewer half-baked features hanging around.

Make your Python codebase easier to reason about.

And when in doubt? Cut the feature, not the corner.


The best code you’ll write this week might be the code you delete.