Code Reuse Enforcement
CRITICAL GUARDRAIL: Discover existing code BEFORE writing new code.
Why This Matters
- Magic strings scatter across 50 files instead of 1 constant
- Duplicate utilities create maintenance nightmares
- Inconsistent values break features silently
The Discovery-First Workflow
BEFORE writing ANY code with literals or utilities:
- Check Constants - URLs, paths, timeouts, limits, env var names
- Check Enums - States, statuses, types, actions
- Check Utilities - Path ops, env reading, file ops, validation
Quick Reference: discovery-catalog.md
Common Violations
Magic Strings
# ❌ BAD
url = "https://ai-debugger.com/support"
log_dir = ".aidb/log"
debug = os.getenv("AIDB_LOG_LEVEL", "INFO")
# ✅ GOOD
from aidb_common.constants import AIDB_BASE_URL
from aidb_common.path import get_aidb_log_dir
from aidb_logging.utils import get_log_level
url = f"{AIDB_BASE_URL}/support"
log_dir = get_aidb_log_dir()
log_level = get_log_level(default="INFO")
Magic Numbers
# ❌ BAD
await asyncio.sleep(0.1)
timeout = 5.0
# ✅ GOOD
from aidb.common.constants import EVENT_POLL_TIMEOUT_S, CONNECTION_TIMEOUT_S
await asyncio.sleep(EVENT_POLL_TIMEOUT_S)
timeout = CONNECTION_TIMEOUT_S
Reimplementing Utilities
# ❌ BAD
def get_bool_env(name: str, default: bool) -> bool:
value = os.getenv(name)
return value.lower() in ("true", "1", "yes") if value else default
# ✅ GOOD
from aidb_common.env import read_bool
result = read_bool("AIDB_TRACE", default=False)
String States
# ❌ BAD
if session_state == "running":
pass
# ✅ GOOD
from aidb_mcp.core.constants import SessionState
if session_state == SessionState.RUNNING:
pass
Quick Discovery
Constants Files
| Location | Contents |
|---|---|
aidb_common/constants.py |
Language enum, paths, domains |
aidb/dap/client/constants.py |
DAP events, commands, stop reasons |
aidb/common/constants.py |
Timeouts (seconds), defaults |
aidb_mcp/core/constants.py |
MCP tool names, actions |
aidb_cli/core/constants.py |
Icons, exit codes, Docker |
Utility Packages
| Need | Package |
|---|---|
| JSON | aidb_common.io |
| YAML | aidb_cli.core.yaml (CLI) |
| Paths | aidb_common.path |
| Env vars | aidb_common.env |
| Validation | aidb_common.validation |
Full reference: See docstrings in src/aidb_common/
Search Commands
grep -r "value_to_find" src --include="*.py"
find src -name "constants.py"
grep -r "class.*Enum" src --include="*.py" -l
When to Create NEW Constants
Only when:
- Truly new concept - Not covered by existing constants
- Used 2+ times - Will be reused
- Proper location - Adding to the RIGHT constants file
- Following patterns - Matches existing naming conventions
Enforcement Checklist
Before committing:
- No hardcoded URLs (use aidb_common constants)
- No hardcoded paths (use path utilities)
- No magic numbers for timeouts (use api/constants.py)
- No string literals for states (use enums)
- No reimplemented utilities (check aidb_common)
- No manual env var parsing (use aidb_common.env)
Resources
- Discovery Catalog - Complete constants, enums, utilities reference
src/aidb_common/- Source code with detailed docstrings
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