/de-sloppify — 7-Step Cleanup Pipeline
What
Runs an ordered, verified cleanup pipeline over a .NET codebase. Order matters:
formatting first (it touches every file — get the churn out of the way before
anything else), dead code late (earlier steps reveal it). Random cleanup misses
things and creates merge conflicts; the pipeline doesn't.
Three rules make it safe:
- Verify after each step —
dotnet build + dotnet test between steps. A
cleanup that breaks something is worse than the mess it was fixing.
- Commit per step — each step is its own commit, so a bad Step 4 reverts
without losing Steps 1-3.
- Safe removals only — before deleting "dead" code, check for reflection,
DI-convention, and serialization usage that Roslyn cannot see.
Per-step commands, safety checklists, and code examples live in
references/cleanup-steps.md — read it before executing.
When
- "Clean up", "tidy up", "de-sloppify", "housekeeping", "tech debt"
- After a large feature merge or dependency upgrade (new warnings accumulate)
- Pre-release hardening, or a scheduled quarterly cleanup sprint
- Before performance work (dead code out, classes sealed for devirtualization)
- Never mixed with feature work — cleanup commits stay pure
How
Step 0: Pick the Steps
| Scenario |
Steps to run |
| Full cleanup pass / pre-release / quarterly |
All 7 |
| Quick tidy before PR |
1, 2, 6 |
| After large feature merge |
1, 2, 3, 4 |
| After dependency upgrade |
2, 3 |
| Before performance work |
4, 6 |
| CI warning threshold exceeded |
3 only |
| Tech debt sprint |
4, 5 |
Steps 1-7 (execute in order, details in references/cleanup-steps.md)
| # |
Step |
Tool |
Commit message |
| 1 |
Format all code |
dotnet format |
chore: apply dotnet format |
| 2 |
Remove unused usings |
dotnet format analyzers --diagnostics IDE0005 |
chore: remove unused using statements |
| 3 |
Fix analyzer warnings |
MCP get_diagnostics → triage by category |
chore: fix analyzer warnings |
| 4 |
Remove dead code |
MCP find_dead_code + safety check (reflection/DI/serialization grep) |
chore: remove dead code |
| 5 |
Resolve TODOs |
grep TODO/HACK/FIXME → fix, file issue, or delete |
chore: resolve TODO comments |
| 6 |
Seal non-inherited classes |
MCP get_type_hierarchy per candidate + test-project grep |
chore: seal non-inherited classes |
| 7 |
Propagate CancellationToken |
MCP detect_antipatterns → trace async chains |
chore: propagate CancellationToken through async chains |
After every step: dotnet build + dotnet test, then commit. If a step breaks
the build or tests, fix or revert that step before continuing — never carry a
red state into the next step. Delegate structural steps (4, 6, 7) to the
refactor-cleaner agent.
Final Report
## De-Sloppify Report
| Step | Changes | Files Affected |
|------|---------|----------------|
| 1. Format | Applied consistent formatting | 23 files |
| 2. Usings | Removed 47 unused usings | 18 files |
| 3. Analyzers | Fixed 12 warnings (8 nullability, 3 unused vars, 1 obsolete) | 9 files |
| 4. Dead Code | Removed 3 unused types, 5 unused methods | 6 files |
| 5. TODOs | Fixed 2, created issues for 3, removed 1 stale | 5 files |
| 6. Sealed | Sealed 14 classes | 14 files |
| 7. CancellationToken | Added propagation to 8 async chains | 11 files |
**Total: 7 commits, 86 files improved**
Example
User: /de-sloppify — full pass before the release
Claude: Running the 7-step pipeline...
Step 1: dotnet format — 23 files reformatted. Build + tests green. Committed.
Step 2: IDE0005 — 47 unused usings removed across 18 files. Green. Committed.
Step 3: 12 warnings triaged: 8 nullability fixed with null checks,
3 unused vars removed, 1 CS0618 migrated off the obsolete API. Committed.
Step 4: find_dead_code → 9 candidates. Safety check: PaymentProcessor is
registered via DI convention — kept. Removed 3 types, 5 methods. Committed.
Step 5: 6 TODOs → 2 fixed, 3 became issues (#141-#143), 1 stale removed. Committed.
Step 6: 14 classes sealed (2 skipped: xUnit fixture base, virtual members). Committed.
Step 7: 8 async chains now propagate ct end-to-end. Committed.
7 commits, 86 files improved. Full report above.
Related
references/cleanup-steps.md — per-step commands, safety checks, examples/verify — run the full verification pipeline after cleanup/health-check — re-grade the project to quantify the improvement/code-review — cleanup handles style; review handles logic and design
1---2name: de-sloppify3description: Systematic code cleanup pipeline for .NET projects. Runs 7 ordered steps: formatting, unused usings, analyzer warnings, dead code removal, TODO resolution, sealed class audit, and CancellationToken propagation. Each step is verified independently with tests between phases. Load this skill when: "clean up", "de-sloppify", "tidy up", "remove dead code", "code cleanup", "housekeeping", "tech debt", "fix warnings", "seal classes", "add CancellationToken", "unused usings", "format code".4---5
6# /de-sloppify — 7-Step Cleanup Pipeline
7
8## What
9
10Runs an ordered, verified cleanup pipeline over a .NET codebase. Order matters:
11formatting first (it touches every file — get the churn out of the way before
12anything else), dead code late (earlier steps reveal it). Random cleanup misses
13things and creates merge conflicts; the pipeline doesn't.
14
15Three rules make it safe:
16
171. **Verify after each step** — `dotnet build` + `dotnet test` between steps. A
18 cleanup that breaks something is worse than the mess it was fixing.
192. **Commit per step** — each step is its own commit, so a bad Step 4 reverts
20 without losing Steps 1-3.
213. **Safe removals only** — before deleting "dead" code, check for reflection,
22 DI-convention, and serialization usage that Roslyn cannot see.
23
24Per-step commands, safety checklists, and code examples live in
25`references/cleanup-steps.md` — read it before executing.
26
27## When
28
29- "Clean up", "tidy up", "de-sloppify", "housekeeping", "tech debt"
30- After a large feature merge or dependency upgrade (new warnings accumulate)
31- Pre-release hardening, or a scheduled quarterly cleanup sprint
32- Before performance work (dead code out, classes sealed for devirtualization)
33- Never mixed with feature work — cleanup commits stay pure
34
35## How
36
37### Step 0: Pick the Steps
38
39| Scenario | Steps to run |
40|----------|-------------|
41| Full cleanup pass / pre-release / quarterly | All 7 |
42| Quick tidy before PR | 1, 2, 6 |
43| After large feature merge | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
44| After dependency upgrade | 2, 3 |
45| Before performance work | 4, 6 |
46| CI warning threshold exceeded | 3 only |
47| Tech debt sprint | 4, 5 |
48
49### Steps 1-7 (execute in order, details in references/cleanup-steps.md)
50
51| # | Step | Tool | Commit message |
52|---|------|------|----------------|
53| 1 | Format all code | `dotnet format` | `chore: apply dotnet format` |
54| 2 | Remove unused usings | `dotnet format analyzers --diagnostics IDE0005` | `chore: remove unused using statements` |
55| 3 | Fix analyzer warnings | MCP `get_diagnostics` → triage by category | `chore: fix analyzer warnings` |
56| 4 | Remove dead code | MCP `find_dead_code` + **safety check** (reflection/DI/serialization grep) | `chore: remove dead code` |
57| 5 | Resolve TODOs | grep TODO/HACK/FIXME → fix, file issue, or delete | `chore: resolve TODO comments` |
58| 6 | Seal non-inherited classes | MCP `get_type_hierarchy` per candidate + test-project grep | `chore: seal non-inherited classes` |
59| 7 | Propagate CancellationToken | MCP `detect_antipatterns` → trace async chains | `chore: propagate CancellationToken through async chains` |
60
61After every step: `dotnet build` + `dotnet test`, then commit. If a step breaks
62the build or tests, fix or revert that step before continuing — never carry a
63red state into the next step. Delegate structural steps (4, 6, 7) to the
64`refactor-cleaner` agent.
65
66### Final Report
67
68```markdown
69## De-Sloppify Report
70
71| Step | Changes | Files Affected |
72|------|---------|----------------|
73| 1. Format | Applied consistent formatting | 23 files |
74| 2. Usings | Removed 47 unused usings | 18 files |
75| 3. Analyzers | Fixed 12 warnings (8 nullability, 3 unused vars, 1 obsolete) | 9 files |
76| 4. Dead Code | Removed 3 unused types, 5 unused methods | 6 files |
77| 5. TODOs | Fixed 2, created issues for 3, removed 1 stale | 5 files |
78| 6. Sealed | Sealed 14 classes | 14 files |
79| 7. CancellationToken | Added propagation to 8 async chains | 11 files |
80
81**Total: 7 commits, 86 files improved**
82```
83
84## Example
85
86```
87User: /de-sloppify — full pass before the release
88
89Claude: Running the 7-step pipeline...
90
91Step 1: dotnet format — 23 files reformatted. Build + tests green. Committed.
92Step 2: IDE0005 — 47 unused usings removed across 18 files. Green. Committed.
93Step 3: 12 warnings triaged: 8 nullability fixed with null checks,
94 3 unused vars removed, 1 CS0618 migrated off the obsolete API. Committed.
95Step 4: find_dead_code → 9 candidates. Safety check: PaymentProcessor is
96 registered via DI convention — kept. Removed 3 types, 5 methods. Committed.
97Step 5: 6 TODOs → 2 fixed, 3 became issues (#141-#143), 1 stale removed. Committed.
98Step 6: 14 classes sealed (2 skipped: xUnit fixture base, virtual members). Committed.
99Step 7: 8 async chains now propagate ct end-to-end. Committed.
100
1017 commits, 86 files improved. Full report above.
102```
103
104## Related
105
106- `references/cleanup-steps.md` — per-step commands, safety checks, examples
107- `/verify` — run the full verification pipeline after cleanup
108- `/health-check` — re-grade the project to quantify the improvement
109- `/code-review` — cleanup handles style; review handles logic and design
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