yeaight7 Context Retrieval Loop (Codebase Maintenance)
Gather context before any refactor or maintenance task. Prevents breaking undetected callers or missing test coverage.
When to Use
- About to refactor, rename, or remove code
- Assessing dead code before deletion
- Unsure of the blast radius of a change
The 3-Cycle Loop
Cycle 1 — Broad Search
# Find callers and references
rg "<symbol-name>" --type ts --type js -l
rg "<symbol-name>" --glob "*.py" -l
Stop here if you can confirm the symbol is unused (no results).
Cycle 2 — Exact Source and Tests
Read the target file and its tests. Find all callers:
rg "import.*<module>" -l
rg "<function-name>" --glob "*.test.*" -l
Stop here if you understand the change scope and existing test coverage.
Cycle 3 — Config and Build
# Check if symbol appears in build or config
rg "<symbol-name>" *.config.* tsconfig.json Makefile -l 2>/dev/null
Check for re-exports, barrel files, and public API surfaces.
Output
Context gathered:
<file-path> — <reason>
Blast radius:
<N> callers in <N> files
Tests covering this code: <yes/no/partial>
Missing context (if any):
<what is still unclear>
Do not start a refactor without knowing the blast radius. If callers are unclear after Cycle 3, stop and report.
Verification
- Cycles ran in order and stopped at the first satisfied condition — never past 3
- Blast radius is reported: caller count, files affected, test coverage status
- Re-exports, barrel files, and public API surfaces were checked before concluding
- No refactor started while callers remained unclear — stopped and reported instead