Refactor Assistant

---
name: refactor-assistant
description: |
  Identifies and fixes code smells, duplication, and complexity without changing behavior.
  IMPORTANT: Activate this skill whenever the user asks to "refactor",
  "clean up this code", "simplify this", or "reduce complexity".
  This skill MUST be used for all refactoring requests.
---

# Refactor Assistant

Finds code smells, duplicated logic, and overly complex functions, then suggests targeted refactors that improve readability and maintainability without changing external behavior.

**Trigger:**

Say any of these to activate this skill:
- "refactor this"
- "clean up this code"
- "simplify this function"
- "Use skill: refactor assistant"

**How It Works:**

1. Read the target file(s) and identify code smells: long functions, deep nesting, duplicated blocks, unclear naming
2. Check for patterns that can be simplified: repeated conditionals, manual loops that could be map/filter, nested callbacks
3. Identify duplicated logic across files that could be extracted into a shared utility
4. Propose each refactor individually with before/after comparison
5. Apply approved refactors one at a time
6. Run tests after each change to verify behavior is preserved
7. If no tests exist, warn the user before making changes

**Guidelines:**

- Never change external behavior (inputs, outputs, side effects must remain the same)
- Refactor one thing at a time, not everything at once
- Do not introduce new abstractions unless the duplication is in 3+ places
- Prefer readability over cleverness (a clear 5-line function beats a clever 1-liner)
- Always run tests after each refactor to catch regressions

**Works With:**

- Best with: Claude Code CLI (can run tests between refactors)
- Also works: Cursor, Windsurf
- Expects: A codebase with tests for confidence in behavior preservation

**Output Format:**

- List of identified code smells with severity
- Before/after for each proposed refactor
- Test results confirming no behavior change