code-refactor skill

Overview

This skill delegates code refactoring work to a specialized code-refactoring agent that applies SOLID principles and best practices while preserving behavior. It analyzes the target file or directory, detects code smells, and returns a behavior-preserving refactor with clear structure and explanations. The goal is safer, cleaner code with all tests and external APIs intact.

How this skill works

The skill collects context about the target path, file type, and line count, then invokes the code-refactoring subagent to perform the refactor. The subagent identifies long methods, large classes, duplicated patterns, complex conditionals, and other smells, then applies SOLID principles and recognized best practices. It runs transformations that preserve functionality and outputs the refactored code alongside a summary of changes and rationale.

When to use it

• When classes or functions have grown large and are hard to reason about
• When duplicate logic appears across files or modules
• When conditional logic is complex or frequently changed
• When tests exist and you need behavior-preserving improvements
• When preparing code for extension or easier maintenance

Best practices

• Extract small methods to reduce cognitive load and improve reuse
• Split responsibilities so each class or module has a single reason to change
• Favor abstractions and interfaces to enable safe substitution and extension
• Remove duplicated code and consolidate common behavior
• Keep the external API stable; refactor internals behind tests

Example use cases

• Refactor a legacy service file with long methods into smaller classes following SRP
• Decompose a monolithic class into collaborating components to enable OCP
• Replace duplicated validation logic with a shared validator module
• Simplify nested conditional branches by introducing strategy or polymorphism
• Introduce interfaces and dependency injection to decouple modules for testing

FAQ