Refactoring Advisor

Refactoring Advisor

Quick Start

Plan refactoring based on identified issues:

1. Identify the problem (code smell, complexity)
2. Select appropriate refactoring pattern
3. Create step-by-step plan
4. Ensure tests exist
5. Refactor incrementally

Instructions

Step 1: Assess Current State

Analyze the code:

• What is the problem? (long method, god class, etc.)
• What is the impact? (maintainability, testability)
• What is the risk? (how much code depends on it)

Step 2: Select Refactoring Strategy

| Problem | Strategy | Risk | |---------|----------|------| | Long Method | Extract Method | Low | | God Class | Extract Class | Medium | | Duplicated Code | Extract Method | Low | | Switch Statement | Replace with Polymorphism | High | | Long Parameter List | Introduce Parameter Object | Medium |

Step 3: Create Refactoring Plan

Template:

## Refactoring: [Name]

**Problem:** [Description]
**Goal:** [Desired outcome]
**Risk Level:** [Low/Medium/High]

### Prerequisites
- [ ] Tests exist and pass
- [ ] Code is committed
- [ ] Dependencies identified

### Steps
1. [First small change]
2. [Run tests]
3. [Next small change]
4. [Run tests]
...

### Validation
- [ ] All tests pass
- [ ] No functionality changed
- [ ] Code is cleaner

Step 4: Execute Incrementally

Golden Rule: Make the change easy, then make the easy change

1. Make one small change
2. Run tests
3. Commit
4. Repeat

Refactoring Examples

Extract Method

Before:

function printOwing(invoice) {
  let outstanding = 0;
  
  console.log("***********************");
  console.log("**** Customer Owes ****");
  console.log("***********************");
  
  for (const o of invoice.orders) {
    outstanding += o.amount;
  }
  
  console.log(`name: ${invoice.customer}`);
  console.log(`amount: ${outstanding}`);
}

Plan:

1. Extract banner printing
2. Run tests
3. Extract outstanding calculation
4. Run tests
5. Extract details printing
6. Run tests

After:

function printOwing(invoice) {
  printBanner();
  const outstanding = calculateOutstanding(invoice);
  printDetails(invoice, outstanding);
}

function printBanner() {
  console.log("***********************");
  console.log("**** Customer Owes ****");
  console.log("***********************");
}

function calculateOutstanding(invoice) {
  return invoice.orders.reduce((sum, o) => sum + o.amount, 0);
}

function printDetails(invoice, outstanding) {
  console.log(`name: ${invoice.customer}`);
  console.log(`amount: ${outstanding}`);
}

Extract Class

Before:

class Person {
  name;
  officeAreaCode;
  officeNumber;
  
  getTelephoneNumber() {
    return `(${this.officeAreaCode}) ${this.officeNumber}`;
  }
}

Plan:

1. Create TelephoneNumber class
2. Move areaCode field
3. Run tests
4. Move number field
5. Run tests
6. Move getTelephoneNumber method
7. Run tests
8. Update Person to use TelephoneNumber
9. Run tests

After:

class TelephoneNumber {
  areaCode;
  number;
  
  toString() {
    return `(${this.areaCode}) ${this.number}`;
  }
}

class Person {
  name;
  telephoneNumber;
  
  getTelephoneNumber() {
    return this.telephoneNumber.toString();
  }
}

Safety Checklist

Before refactoring:

• [ ] Tests exist and pass
• [ ] Code is in version control
• [ ] You understand what the code does
• [ ] You have time to complete the refactoring

During refactoring:

• [ ] Make small changes
• [ ] Run tests after each change
• [ ] Commit working states
• [ ] Don't add features while refactoring

After refactoring:

• [ ] All tests pass
• [ ] Code review completed
• [ ] Documentation updated
• [ ] No functionality changed

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: armanzeroeight
• Source: armanzeroeight/fastagent-plugins
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.