| name | refactoring |
| description | Use when the user asks to "refactor", restructure, clean up, simplify, deduplicate, extract, or reorganize code. Enforces the Martin Fowler discipline defined in src/.coding_rules.md and .cursor/08-testing-and-deployment.mdc. |
OntoBricks refactoring
"Refactor" = the Martin Fowler definition. The canonical guides are
src/.coding_rules.md (long-form) and .cursor/08-testing-and-deployment.mdc §Working Style for Refactoring (the 5-step procedure). Read those first;
this skill only sequences the work.
Procedure
For every refactor request, follow the 5 steps from .cursor/08:
- Summarize the relevant module/function (1–3 sentences).
- List code smells, mapping each to a named refactoring (Fowler catalog).
- Propose an ordered plan (2–5 steps).
- Apply in small, reviewable chunks — one route, one method, one file at a time.
- After each chunk: name the refactorings applied, explain the structural improvement, list remaining smells.
Run uv run --frozen pytest -q between chunks for non-trivial sequences. Behavior
must stay identical — see src/.coding_rules.md §1.1.
Smell → refactoring quick lookup
The full table lives in .cursor/05-code-style-and-structure §Code Smells
and src/.coding_rules.md §2. The few I reach for most often:
| Smell | Refactoring |
|---|
| Long route handler | Extract Method into the matching back/objects/ class |
Legacy service.py | Move Function + delete service.py once empty |
| Repeated try/except → JSON envelope | Extract Function or rely on the global handler |
| Long parameter list / data clump | Introduce Parameter Object (Pydantic / @dataclass) |
| Magic strings/codes | Replace Magic Number with Symbolic Constant in constants.py |
| God service | Extract Class by domain + Move Function |
| Module-level functions sharing state | Convert to a class (one public class per file, PascalCase) |
Don't
- Don't bundle behavioural changes with a refactor — separate commits.
- Don't rename a public class/method without a backward-compat wrapper in
__init__.py (.cursor/07 §__init__.py Conventions).
- Don't skip the changelog (
changelog skill).
