YAGNI
You Aren't Gonna Need It
ELI5 — The Vibe Check
Don't build stuff you don't need right now. Developers love adding features 'just in case' — a settings page nobody asked for, a plugin system for a personal project. Build what you need TODAY. Future you might never need that thing.
Real Talk
YAGNI is an Extreme Programming principle that states developers should not add functionality until it is actually needed. Premature features increase complexity, maintenance burden, and often go unused.
When You'll Hear This
"YAGNI — we don't need i18n for an internal tool." / "You're gold-plating. YAGNI."
Related Terms
DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself)
If you find yourself copy-pasting the same code in multiple places, STOP. Make it a reusable function instead.
KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid)
Don't overcomplicate things! The simplest solution that works is usually the best one.
MVP (MVP)
An MVP is the simplest version of your product that actually works well enough for real users to use and for you to learn from.
Scope Creep
Scope creep is when a simple feature request slowly grows into rebuilding the entire application.