What happens if a refactoring step breaks a test?

The skill follows a strict error recovery protocol: if a test fails after a change, the skill immediately stops, reverts the change to restore the working state, and investigates the cause.

Do I need to have tests written before using this skill?

Yes. The skill requires establishing a passing baseline of tests before any refactoring begins. If tests are missing or failing, it will prompt you to address them before proceeding with structural changes.

Does this skill change how my code works?

No. The core principle of this skill is mandatory behavior preservation. It is designed to change the internal structure of the code while ensuring external functionality, APIs, and business logic remain identical.

Which code smells can this skill identify?

It can identify method-level smells (long methods, duplicate code), class-level smells (large classes, feature envy), and architecture-level smells (circular dependencies, shotgun surgery).

Safe Code Refactoring

Name: Safe Code Refactoring
Author: rsmdt

byrsmdt

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158

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Security & Testing

Systematically improves code structure and quality while strictly preserving external behavior through a test-driven protocol.

The Safe Refactoring skill provides a rigorous framework for improving code health without introducing regressions. It guides Claude through a multi-phase process that includes establishing a testing baseline, identifying specific code smells like Long Methods or Feature Envy, and executing atomic changes. By enforcing a 'test after every change' rule and maintaining a strict separation between structural improvements and functional updates, it ensures that public APIs and business logic remain identical while the underlying code becomes more maintainable, readable, and extensible.

Key Features

01158 GitHub stars

02Phase-based refactoring execution with mandatory testing baselines

03Integrated error recovery and revert procedures for failing tests

04Structured reporting for refactoring plans and execution status

05Atomic change protocol to ensure 100% behavior preservation

06Automated code smell detection for method, class, and architecture levels

Use Cases

01Cleaning up technical debt in legacy codebases while maintaining stability

02Standardizing code organization and naming conventions across a project

03Decomposing monolithic classes or long methods into modular components

What are Skills?·How to Install

Install with 🐟 Skill.Fish

npx skillfish add rsmdt/the-startup safe-refactoring

For use in Claude.ai and ChatGPT

Download Skill