auto-naming

name

auto-naming

description

Variable and function naming discipline: domain vocabulary over generic words, verb semantics, scope-proportional length, and the specific naming anti-patterns Claude defaults to. Corrects generic names, naming bankruptcy words, and inconsistent verb prefixes. Use when writing new code, naming variables/functions/types, or reviewing naming quality. Triggers: naming, name, rename, variable name, function name, refactor names, naming convention, domain language, ubiquitous language.

Naming — What Claude Gets Wrong

Your names are acceptable but rarely great. You default to naming things by their structural role (result, data, response) instead of their domain meaning. This skill fixes that.

The Core Rule

Name by what it IS in the domain, not what it IS in the code.

// You write:
let result = db.query(...).await?;
let data = response.json().await?;
let items = fetch_all().await?;

// Senior writes:
let sentinel_reports = db.query(...).await?;
let price_history = response.json().await?;
let pending_alerts = fetch_all().await?;

Generic Names You Default To — Stop Using These

Generic	Name by domain meaning instead
result	consensus_outcome, parsed_config, matched_users
data	sentinel_report, price_candle, whale_transfer
response	user_profile, alert_details (name by content, not transport)
items / list	pending_jobs, active_sentinels, failed_evaluations
value / val	threshold, confidence_score, strike_price
temp / tmp	Name what it temporarily holds: unsorted_scores
input / output	raw_html / parsed_tokens
info	Merge into the noun: UserInfo → User or UserProfile

Function Verb Semantics

Each verb implies different things about performance, side effects, and failure modes. Use the right one.

Verb	Implies	Failure
get	Cheap accessor, O(1), possibly cached	Infallible or panics
fetch	Remote/external source, I/O, network	Returns Result, can fail
find	Searches a collection, absence is normal	Returns Option
load	Reads from storage, deserializes	Returns Result
query	Structured lookup (SQL, API)	Returns collection
compute / calculate	Derives via computation, no I/O	Usually infallible
build / create	Constructs a new instance	Returns the new thing
parse	Text/bytes → structured data	Returns Result
resolve	Ambiguous reference → concrete value	Can fail
ensure	Idempotent guarantee (create if missing)	Usually infallible
validate	Checks correctness, no mutation	Returns bool or Result
emit / send / dispatch	Pushes data outward	Fire-and-forget or Result

Your specific failure: You use get, fetch, load, and retrieve interchangeably. get_user_from_database() should be fetch_user(). fetch_name() for a field accessor should be name() or get_name().

Scope-Proportional Length

Variables: Longer names for wider scopes.

• Loop body: i, u, e — fine
• Single function: user, count, path — fine
• Module/struct field: active_subscription_count, unprocessed_reports — fully specific

Functions: Shorter names for wider scopes (inverse).

• Public API: push, send, save, close
• Private helper: normalize_whale_alert_timestamp, calculate_weighted_consensus_score

Boolean Naming

Always phrase as a yes/no question that reads naturally in if:

Prefix	Semantics	Example
is_	Current state	is_active, is_connected
has_	Possession	has_permission, has_children
can_	Capability	can_edit, can_retry
should_	Policy/recommendation	should_notify, should_escalate
needs_	Requirement	needs_review, needs_migration

Always positive form. is_valid not is_not_valid. Negating a negative (!is_not_valid) is cognitive poison.

For function params: include_archived: bool reads better than is_archived: bool — name by what the caller is choosing.

Naming Bankruptcy Words — Never Use These for Classes/Modules

Manager, Handler, Processor, Service, Helper, Utils, Data, Info, Base, Common, Core, Engine, System

These words mean nothing. Name by what the thing actually does:

• UserManager → UserRepository, UserAuthenticator, UserRegistration
• DataProcessor → SentinelReportAggregator, WhaleAlertNormalizer
• Utils → Break into specific modules: formatting, validation, parsing

Collection and Map Naming

• Plural for collections: users, reports, alerts
• Qualified when filtered: active_users, pending_alerts
• Maps by key-to-value: price_by_symbol, reports_by_sentinel
• Never: map, dict, lookup, cache as the full name

Domain Vocabulary

When a codebase has established terms, use them. Don't introduce synonyms.

• If the codebase says sentinel, don't write crawler
• If it says debate, don't write analysis
• If it says alert, don't write notification

Grep the codebase for existing terminology before naming new things.

Naming Reveals Design Problems

If you can't name it, the design is wrong:

• Can't name without "And"? It does too much — split it
• Need "Manager"? Unclear responsibility — narrow the scope
• Two things with similar names? (UserData / UserInfo) Duplicated concept — merge or differentiate
• Named by implementation? (string_array, filtered_list) Name by meaning: tags, active_subscriptions

Don't Encode Types in Names

# You write:          # Senior writes:
user_dict = ...       user = ...
config_map = ...      config = ...
name_str = ...        name = ...
items_list = ...      items = ...

The type system handles types. Names handle meaning.