Menu

Individual skill

refactoring-patterns

0upvotes

Apply named refactoring transformations to improve code structure without changing behavior. Use when the user mentions "refactor this", "code smells", "extract method", "replace conditional", "technical debt", "move method", "inline variable", "decompose conditional", or "clean up this messy code". Also trigger when cleaning up legacy code, preparing code for new features by restructuring, or identifying which transformation fits a specific code smell. Covers smell-driven refactoring, safe transformation sequences, and testing guards. For code-quality foundations, see clean-code. For managing complexity, see software-design-philosophy.

refactoring-patterns/SKILL.md

Read pinned source

Source commit d8d5d75f83da9f16d8aad5bab5f5b341a4770a30

What was checked

Matches the observed repository HEAD
Yes
Scanner rules are current
Yes
Repository scan complete
No
Skill scan complete
Yes
Observed behavior
Network or broad shell
Last checked
Nov 9, 2026

These are observations at the recorded commit, not a guarantee of safety. Review the source before running it.

Install this skill

Choose an agent in your Stack or copy a command below. Commands fetch the pinned commit and copy only this skill directory. Existing destinations are refused. Copying a command does not install anything.

An install command is unavailable: current rules, complete repository and skill scans, an eligible behavior level and a permitted license are required.

Repository context

Repository stars (not skill ratings)
2,656
Repository last updated
Nov 2, 2026
License
MIT

Observed agent integration: No specific integration evidence. Standard SKILL.md installation does not imply verified compatibility.

Files and excerpt

File metadata and permitted, redacted excerpts come from the recorded scan. Source links are pinned to that commit.

Browse files
Read excerpt

# Refactoring Patterns Framework

A disciplined approach to improving the internal structure of existing code without changing its observable behavior. Every refactoring follows the same loop: verify tests pass, apply one small structural change, verify tests still pass.

## Core Principle

**Refactoring is not rewriting. It is a sequence of small, behavior-preserving transformations, each backed by tests.** You never change what the code does — only how it is organized. Big-bang rewrites fail because they combine structural change with behavioral change, making it impossible to know which broke things.

**The foundation:** Bad code is a natural consequence of delivering under time pressure, not a character flaw. Code smells are objective signals of degraded structure; the smell catalog tells you *where* to look, and the refactoring catalog tells you *what to do*.

## Scoring

**Goal: 10/10.** Score structural quality by how many of the eight [Quick Diagnostic](#quick-diagnostic) rows pass — `score = round(passed / 8 × 10)`, adjusting down when a single smell is severe. Bands:
- **9-10**: no obvious smells remain, each function does one thing, names reveal intent, duplication is eliminated, conditionals use polymorphism where apt, and tests cover the refactored paths.
Back to top