Code Refactorer

Code Refactorer

Identifies code smells and applies safe, systematic refactoring transformations that improve readability, maintainability, and structure without altering observable behavior.

When to Use

• User asks to "refactor this", "clean up", "simplify", or "reduce complexity"
• Code review flagged high complexity, duplication, or poor structure
• A function exceeds 40–50 lines or has many nested conditionals
• A class has too many responsibilities (god class)
• Duplicated logic exists across multiple files
• Code fails maintainability or complexity static analysis rules
• User wants to prepare code for adding new features safely

Process

1. Identify code smells by scanning the provided code:

   • Long Method: function > ~40 lines; extract smaller focused functions
   • Duplicate Code: identical or near-identical blocks; extract to shared helper
   • Long Parameter List: >4 parameters; group into a config/options object
   • God Class: class with >10 public methods or mixed concerns; split by responsibility
   • Feature Envy: method accesses another object's data more than its own; move it
   • Data Clumps: same 3+ variables always appear together; create a value object
   • Switch Statements: large switch/if-else chains on type; consider polymorphism
   • Magic Numbers/Strings: unexplained literals; extract as named constants
   • Deep Nesting: >3 levels of nesting; apply early return / guard clauses
   • Dead Code: unreachable or unused code; remove it

2. Prioritize refactors by impact and safety:

   • Start with renames and constant extraction (zero behavior risk)
   • Then extract methods/functions (low risk)
   • Then restructure classes or move code between modules (higher risk, needs tests)

3. Verify tests exist before structural refactors — if not, note the risk and suggest generating tests first using the test-generator skill.

4. Apply refactors one at a time, explaining each transformation:

   • Name the refactoring pattern (Extract Method, Replace Magic Number, Introduce Guard Clause, etc.)
   • Show before/after code
   • Explain what improved and why the behavior is preserved

5. Preserve all public interfaces — do not rename public functions, change parameter order, or alter return types unless explicitly requested.

6. Update call sites if a helper is extracted or a parameter is consolidated.

7. Ensure naming is improved in the process — refactoring is also an opportunity to rename cryptic variables to expressive ones.

Output Format

For each refactoring applied:

### Refactor 1: Extract Method — `validateUserInput`

**Smell:** Long Method — `registerUser` was 67 lines and mixed validation,
hashing, and persistence logic.

**Before:**
```ts
async function registerUser(data: any) {
  if (!data.email || !data.email.includes('@')) {
    throw new Error('Invalid email');
  }
  if (!data.password || data.password.length < 8) {
    throw new Error('Password too short');
  }
  // ... 50 more lines of hashing + DB logic
}

After:

function validateUserInput(data: UserInput): void {
  if (!data.email || !data.email.includes('@')) {
    throw new ValidationError('Invalid email');
  }
  if (!data.password || data.password.length < 8) {
    throw new ValidationError('Password must be at least 8 characters');
  }
}

async function registerUser(data: UserInput) {
  validateUserInput(data);
  // ... hashing + DB logic only
}

Why it's safe: validateUserInput is a pure extraction — same conditions, same exceptions, same outcomes. All existing callers of registerUser are unaffected.

## Examples

### Example Input
```python
def process(data):
    if data is not None:
        if isinstance(data, list):
            if len(data) > 0:
                result = []
                for item in data:
                    if item > 0:
                        result.append(item * 2)
                return result
    return []

Example Output

# Refactor 1: Introduce Guard Clauses (eliminates deep nesting)
# Refactor 2: Replace loop with list comprehension (idiomatic Python)

def process(data: list | None) -> list:
    if not data:
        return []
    return [item * 2 for item in data if item > 0]

Changes:

• Guard clause replaces nested if not None / isinstance / len > 0 checks
• List comprehension replaces the manual loop (functionally identical)
• Type hints added for clarity
• Behavior preserved: returns [] for None, empty list, or all-negative input

Boundaries

• Do NOT change behavior, return types, or exception semantics during refactoring.
• Do NOT rename public API symbols (exported functions, public class methods) unless the user explicitly requests it.
• Do NOT refactor auto-generated code (migrations, protobuf, gRPC stubs, etc.).
• Do NOT apply refactors that require language features not available in the current target version (e.g., no walrus operator if Python < 3.8).
• Always warn if structural refactors are proposed without an existing test suite.
• Do NOT introduce new dependencies as part of a refactor.
• Limit changes to the provided code scope — do not speculatively refactor other files not shown.
• If a refactor requires understanding cross-file dependencies, request those files before proceeding.