refactor-audit

name

refactor-audit

description

Audit a codebase scope for tech debt, generate a prioritized refactoring plan. Covers dead code, complexity hotspots, DRY violations, dependency health, type safety gaps, test coverage, architecture/coupling issues, security smells, and naming/readability problems. Outputs an actionable plan at the requested detail level — from high-level subtasks for a ralph loop to precise file-and-function changes for immediate execution.

Refactor Audit

Systematic codebase audit and refactoring plan generator. Run periodically to identify and reduce tech debt.

When to use

• Periodic tech debt sweeps
• Before a major feature push (clean the area you'll be working in)
• After a big feature lands (clean up what it left behind)
• When onboarding to an unfamiliar area of the codebase
• When something "feels wrong" but you can't pinpoint it

---

Phase 0 — Scope & Configuration

Before doing any analysis, ask the user for these inputs. Present them as questions, don't assume defaults silently.

0.1 Target scope

Ask: "What should I audit?"

Accept any of:

• A directory path (e.g. packages/server/modules/auth)
• A package name in a monorepo (e.g. @speckle/viewer)
• A glob pattern (e.g. src/components/**)
• "everything" (single-package repo only — refuse for monorepos, ask them to pick a package)

If the user gives a vague answer like "the auth stuff", use grep/find to locate the relevant directories and confirm with them before proceeding.

0.2 Plan detail level

Ask: "How detailed should the refactoring plan be?"

Two modes:

Mode	When to use	What you produce
Subtask	Plan will be split into subtasks for a ralph loop or multiple agent sessions	High-level task descriptions with context, goals, and acceptance criteria. Subtask agents will do their own file-level research.
Execution	You or the user will implement changes immediately in this session	Precise file paths, function names, line ranges, exact changes to make, and execution order. Like plan mode output.

0.3 Audit categories

Ask: "Run all checks or focus on specific areas?"

Default is all. If the user wants to focus, let them pick from:

1. Dead code & unused exports
2. Complexity hotspots
3. DRY violations & duplication
4. Dependency health
5. Type safety gaps
6. Test coverage gaps
7. Architecture & coupling
8. Security smells
9. Naming & readability

---

Phase 1 — Discovery

Gather context about the target scope before analyzing anything.

1.1 Structural survey

# File inventory
find <scope> -type f \( -name "*.ts" -o -name "*.tsx" -o -name "*.vue" -o -name "*.js" -o -name "*.jsx" -o -name "*.py" \) | head -200

# Size distribution — find the big files first
find <scope> -type f \( -name "*.ts" -o -name "*.tsx" -o -name "*.vue" \) -exec wc -l {} \; | sort -rn | head -30

# Directory structure (2 levels)
find <scope> -type d -maxdepth 3 | head -50

1.2 Tooling detection

Detect what's available in the project. Check for:

• Package manager: look for pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, package-lock.json, poetry.lock
• Linter/formatter: check for .eslintrc*, eslint.config.*, .prettierrc*, biome.json, ruff.toml
• Test framework: check for vitest.config.*, jest.config.*, playwright.config.*, pytest.ini, pyproject.toml
• Type checker: tsconfig.json, pyrightconfig.json, mypy.ini
• Build system: vite.config.*, nuxt.config.*, webpack.config.*, rollup.config.*
• Monorepo root: pnpm-workspace.yaml, lerna.json, nx.json, turbo.json

Record what's present — you'll use these tools in Phase 2.

1.3 Existing standards

Check for: <% if (target === 'claude') { -%>

• CLAUDE.md / .claude/rules/ — project-level AI instructions
• .claude/skills/ — reusable AI workflows and slash commands <% } else if (target === 'copilot') { -%>
• .github/copilot-instructions.md / .github/instructions/ — project-level AI instructions
• .github/skills/ — reusable AI workflows and slash commands <% } else if (target === 'cursor') { -%>
• .cursor/rules/ — project-level AI instructions
• .cursor/skills/ — reusable AI workflows and slash commands <% } else { -%>
• Project-level AI configuration files and skill directories <% } -%>
• CONTRIBUTING.md — team conventions
• .editorconfig
• AI instructions/skills
• Custom lint rules or eslint plugins

Note any project-specific patterns or conventions so your recommendations don't fight the existing codebase style.

1.4 Recent churn (optional but valuable)

If git is available:

# Most frequently changed files (last 3 months) — high churn = high debt risk
git log --since="3 months ago" --name-only --pretty=format: -- <scope> | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20

# Files with the most authors — coordination cost indicator
git log --since="6 months ago" --pretty=format:%an -- <scope> | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -10

---

Phase 2 — Analysis

Run each enabled audit category. For each finding, record:

• What: the specific issue
• Where: file path and line range (or function/component name)
• Severity: CRITICAL / HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW
• Effort: S (< 30 min) / M (30 min – 2 hrs) / L (2+ hrs)
• Why it matters: one sentence on the concrete risk or cost

Category 1: Dead code & unused exports

Goal: Find code that can be deleted with zero behavior change.

Techniques:

• Run the project's linter with unused-variable/import rules if available (eslint --rule 'no-unused-vars: error', ruff check --select F811,F401)
• Search for exported symbols that have zero importers:

  # For each export, grep for imports of that symbol across the scope
  grep -rn "export " <scope> --include="*.ts" | while read line; do
    symbol=$(echo "$line" | grep -oP '(?<=export (const|function|class|type|interface|enum) )\w+')
    if [ -n "$symbol" ]; then
      count=$(grep -rn "import.*${symbol}" <scope> --include="*.ts" --include="*.vue" | wc -l)
      if [ "$count" -eq 0 ]; then echo "UNUSED EXPORT: $symbol in $line"; fi
    fi
  done
  

• Look for commented-out code blocks (>3 lines of comments that look like code)
• Check for entire files with no importers
• Look for feature flags or environment checks that are always true/false

Severity guide:

• CRITICAL: Dead files (entire modules with no importers)
• HIGH: Unused exported functions/components
• MEDIUM: Unused local variables, unreachable branches
• LOW: Commented-out code, unused type definitions

Category 2: Complexity hotspots

Goal: Find functions and components that are too complex to maintain safely.

Techniques:

• File size scan: flag files over 300 lines (WARNING), over 500 lines (CRITICAL)
• Function length: flag functions over 50 lines (WARNING), over 100 lines (CRITICAL)
• Nesting depth: flag anything nested >3 levels deep
• Cyclomatic complexity: count branches (if/else/switch/ternary/&&/||/catch)
  • 1-5: fine
  • 6-10: WARNING — consider splitting
  • 11+: CRITICAL — must split
• Vue components: flag components with >5 ref()/reactive() declarations (extract composable)
• Look for functions with >4 parameters (use options object)

Prioritization formula: (lines / 100) + (branch_count × 0.5) + (nesting_depth × 2)

Score >5 = HIGH priority for refactoring.

Category 3: DRY violations & duplication

Goal: Find duplicated logic that should be consolidated.

Techniques:

• Search for structurally similar code blocks (>10 lines that differ only in variable names)
• Look for repeated patterns:

  # Find suspiciously similar functions
  grep -rn "function\|const.*=.*=>" <scope> --include="*.ts" | \
    awk -F: '{print $1}' | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20
  

• Check for copy-pasted error handling patterns
• Look for repeated API call patterns that should be a shared utility
• Check for duplicated type definitions across files
• Look for switch/case or if/else chains that repeat across files (→ strategy pattern, lookup table)

Important distinction: Structural similarity is NOT always a DRY violation. Two functions that look alike but serve different domains should stay separate. Only flag duplication where the logic is genuinely shared knowledge.

Severity guide:

• HIGH: Same logic duplicated 3+ times, or duplicated logic that has diverged (bug in one copy, not others)
• MEDIUM: Same logic in 2 places
• LOW: Similar patterns that could share a utility but work fine as-is

Category 4: Dependency health

Goal: Find outdated, vulnerable, or unnecessary dependencies.

Techniques:

• If npm/pnpm: pnpm outdated or check package.json for pinned ancient versions
• Look for dependencies that are only used in 1-2 files (could be replaced with a small utility)
• Check for multiple packages doing the same thing (e.g., both axios and fetch wrappers)
• Look for deprecated packages (check for deprecation notices in package.json or README)
• Check for packages that pull in huge transitive dependency trees for minor functionality
• Look for dependencies that should be devDependencies (or vice versa)

Severity guide:

• CRITICAL: Known security vulnerabilities (if npm audit / pnpm audit available, run it)
• HIGH: Deprecated packages, major version behind
• MEDIUM: Multiple packages for same purpose, unnecessary large dependencies
• LOW: Minor version behind, could-be-devDependency misplacements

Category 5: Type safety gaps

Goal: Find places where TypeScript's type system is being bypassed.

Techniques:

# Count type safety escapes
grep -rn "as any\|: any\|<any>" <scope> --include="*.ts" --include="*.tsx" --include="*.vue" | wc -l

# Find specific occurrences
grep -rn "as any" <scope> --include="*.ts" --include="*.vue"
grep -rn ": any" <scope> --include="*.ts" --include="*.vue"
grep -rn "@ts-ignore\|@ts-expect-error\|@ts-nocheck" <scope> --include="*.ts" --include="*.vue"
grep -rn "eslint-disable.*@typescript" <scope> --include="*.ts" --include="*.vue"

# Non-null assertions (risky)
grep -rn "!\." <scope> --include="*.ts" --include="*.vue" | grep -v "!=\|!=="

• Also look for: untyped function parameters, Object or {} as types, excessive use of type assertions
• Check tsconfig.json for permissive settings (strict: false, noImplicitAny: false)

Severity guide:

• HIGH: any in function signatures (spreads through the call chain), @ts-nocheck on entire files
• MEDIUM: as any type assertions, non-null assertions in complex logic
• LOW: @ts-expect-error with explanation comments (at least they're documented)

Category 6: Test coverage gaps

Goal: Find critical code paths that lack test coverage.

Techniques:

• If coverage tooling is set up, run it: vitest --coverage, jest --coverage, pytest --cov
• If not, heuristic approach:

  # Find source files with no corresponding test file
  find <scope> -name "*.ts" -not -name "*.test.*" -not -name "*.spec.*" -not -path "*/node_modules/*" | while read src; do
    base=$(basename "$src" .ts)
    test_count=$(find <scope> -name "${base}.test.*" -o -name "${base}.spec.*" | wc -l)
    if [ "$test_count" -eq 0 ]; then echo "NO TESTS: $src"; fi
  done
  

• Cross-reference with complexity hotspots: complex + untested = highest risk
• Check for test files that exist but only test the happy path (look for test files with <3 test cases for complex modules)
• Look for mocked-everything tests that don't actually validate behavior

Severity guide:

• CRITICAL: Business logic with no tests AND high complexity
• HIGH: Public API functions/components with no tests
• MEDIUM: Utility functions with no tests, test files with very few assertions
• LOW: Type-only files, pure config files without tests

Category 7: Architecture & coupling

Goal: Find structural problems that make the codebase hard to change.

Techniques:

• Circular dependencies: trace import chains looking for cycles

  # Quick circular dependency check
  # For each file, check if any of its imports also import it back
  grep -rn "^import" <scope> --include="*.ts" | grep -v node_modules
  

  (Or use madge --circular if available)
• Layer violations: if the project has a layered architecture (e.g., components shouldn't import from server modules), check for cross-layer imports
• God modules: files that are imported by >15 other files (high fan-in = risky to change)

  # Most-imported files
  grep -rn "from.*['\"]" <scope> --include="*.ts" --include="*.vue" | \
    grep -oP "from ['\"]([^'\"]+)['\"]" | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20
  

• Coupling indicators: files that always change together in git history
• Barrel file bloat: index.ts files that re-export everything, causing import cycle risks and bundle bloat
• Misplaced logic: UI components containing business logic, utility files containing domain logic

Severity guide:

• CRITICAL: Circular dependency cycles
• HIGH: God modules (>20 importers), layer violations
• MEDIUM: Barrel file bloat, high coupling between unrelated modules
• LOW: Minor structural inconsistencies

Category 8: Security smells

Goal: Find patterns that could lead to security issues.

Techniques:

# Hardcoded secrets
grep -rn "password\|secret\|api_key\|apikey\|token\|private_key" <scope> --include="*.ts" --include="*.vue" | grep -v "test\|spec\|mock\|\.d\.ts\|type\|interface"

# SQL/NoSQL injection risks
grep -rn "query.*\`\|execute.*\`\|raw.*\`" <scope> --include="*.ts"

# XSS risks
grep -rn "innerHTML\|dangerouslySetInnerHTML\|v-html" <scope> --include="*.ts" --include="*.vue" --include="*.tsx"

# Eval and friends
grep -rn "eval(\|new Function(\|setTimeout.*['\"]" <scope> --include="*.ts" --include="*.js"

# Unvalidated user input going into file paths, commands, URLs
grep -rn "exec(\|execSync(\|spawn(" <scope> --include="*.ts"

• Check for missing input validation on API endpoints
• Look for CORS wildcards (Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *)
• Check for disabled security headers

Severity guide:

• CRITICAL: Hardcoded secrets, SQL injection patterns, eval with user input
• HIGH: XSS vectors, missing input validation on public endpoints
• MEDIUM: Overly permissive CORS, missing rate limiting patterns
• LOW: Using v-html with sanitized content (still worth noting)

Category 9: Naming & readability

Goal: Find names that mislead or confuse.

Techniques:

• Single-letter variables outside of loop indices and arrow function shorthands
• Boolean variables/functions not starting with is/has/can/should/will
• Functions >30 chars (probably doing too much if you need that many words)
• Inconsistent naming conventions within the scope (mixing camelCase and snake_case)
• Misleading names: function named getX that has side effects, or isX that returns non-boolean
• Abbreviated names that aren't universally known (mgr, proc, val, tmp, cb)
• Generic names: data, info, result, item, stuff, thing, handler, manager, service, utils, helpers

Severity guide:

• HIGH: Misleading names (function behavior contradicts its name)
• MEDIUM: Generic names on important domain concepts
• LOW: Minor inconsistencies, slightly too-long names

---

Phase 3 — Prioritization

After all checks complete, sort all findings into a prioritized list.

Scoring formula

For each finding, compute:

priority_score = severity_weight + effort_bonus + churn_bonus + coupling_bonus

severity_weight:
  CRITICAL = 10
  HIGH     = 7
  MEDIUM   = 4
  LOW      = 1

effort_bonus (favor quick wins):
  S (< 30 min)    = +3
  M (30 min–2 hr) = +1
  L (2+ hr)       = +0

churn_bonus (if git data available):
  File changed >10 times in 3 months = +3
  File changed 5–10 times            = +1
  File changed <5 times              = +0

coupling_bonus (more importers = higher risk):
  >15 importers = +3
  5–15 importers = +1
  <5 importers   = +0

Sort descending by priority_score. Group into tiers:

• Tier 1 (Do first): score ≥ 12
• Tier 2 (Do soon): score 8–11
• Tier 3 (Do eventually): score 4–7
• Tier 4 (Nice to have): score < 4

---

Phase 4 — Plan Generation

Generate the refactoring plan in the requested detail level.

Subtask mode output

For each tier (starting from Tier 1), generate task descriptions like:

## Task: [short descriptive title]

**Category:** [which audit category]
**Tier:** [1-4]
**Estimated effort:** [S/M/L]
**Findings addressed:** [count]

### Context

[2-3 sentences explaining what the problem is and why it matters.
Include enough info for a fresh agent session to understand the situation.]

### Goal

[1-2 sentences on what "done" looks like]

### Scope

[List the files/directories involved — just names, the executing agent will read them]

### Acceptance criteria

- [ ] [Specific, verifiable criterion]
- [ ] [Another criterion]
- [ ] All existing tests still pass
- [ ] No new lint errors introduced

Group related findings into single tasks where they touch the same files. Aim for tasks that take 15-60 minutes each. Split anything larger.

Execution mode output

For each tier, generate precise instructions:

## Refactoring: [short title]

**Priority score:** [X] | **Severity:** [X] | **Effort:** [S/M/L]

### Changes

1. **`path/to/file.ts` (lines 45-78):**
   - Extract the nested if/else block in `processPayment()` into a separate
     `validatePaymentMethod(method: PaymentMethod): ValidationResult` function
   - Move it to `path/to/payment-validation.ts`
   - Update imports in `path/to/file.ts` and `path/to/other-consumer.ts`

2. **`path/to/another-file.ts` (lines 12-15):**
   - Replace `as any` with proper generic: `Record<string, PaymentConfig>`
   - The type definition exists in `path/to/types.ts` line 34

### Verification

- Run: `pnpm test --filter @scope/package`
- Run: `pnpm typecheck`
- Confirm no new lint errors: `pnpm lint`

---

Phase 5 — Summary

After the plan is generated, present a brief summary:

## Audit Summary

**Scope:** [what was analyzed]
**Files scanned:** [count]
**Total findings:** [count]
**Breakdown:**

- Tier 1 (critical): [count] findings → [count] tasks
- Tier 2 (high): [count] findings → [count] tasks
- Tier 3 (medium): [count] findings → [count] tasks
- Tier 4 (low): [count] findings → [count] tasks

**Top 3 systemic issues:**

1. [Pattern that appears across multiple findings]
2. [Another pattern]
3. [Another pattern]

**Quick wins (< 30 min, high impact):**

- [Task name] — [one-line description]
- [Task name] — [one-line description]

**Estimated total effort:** [rough range in hours]

---

Principles

These principles guide the analysis. When in conflict, earlier items take precedence:

1. Don't break things. Every recommended change must preserve existing behavior unless explicitly flagged as a behavior change.
2. Tests first. If a refactoring target has no tests, the first task is always "write characterization tests" before changing anything.
3. Small, safe changes. Prefer many small refactorings over fewer large ones. Each task should be independently shippable.
4. Duplication is better than the wrong abstraction. Don't recommend DRY consolidation unless the duplicated logic is genuinely shared knowledge, not just structurally similar.
5. Existing conventions win. Recommendations should follow the project's existing patterns. Don't suggest a complete architectural overhaul when the issue is localized.
6. Delete before refactor. If code can be deleted instead of refactored, prefer deletion.
7. Tooling over judgment. When a linter, type checker, or test runner can verify a finding, use it. LLM judgment is the fallback, not the primary detector.