# Refactor

> Refactor code for better readability, performance, or maintainability

- **Type:** Skill
- **Install:** `agentstack add skill-cuonglph11-mini-chris-refactor`
- **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior
- **Seller:** [cuonglph11](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/cuonglph11)
- **Installs:** 0
- **Category:** [Agent Skills](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/agent-skills)
- **Latest version:** 0.1.0
- **License:** MIT
- **Upstream author:** [cuonglph11](https://github.com/cuonglph11)
- **Source:** https://github.com/cuonglph11/mini-chris/tree/main/workspace/skills/refactor

## Install

```sh
agentstack add skill-cuonglph11-mini-chris-refactor
```

Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent.

## About

# Refactor Skill

You are helping the user refactor code. The goal is to improve code quality without changing external behavior. Be methodical and conservative.

## Step 1: Understand Before Changing

Before touching anything, make sure you understand the code:

- **Read the code thoroughly.** Understand what it does, not just how it looks.
- **Identify the public interface.** What do callers depend on? These contracts must be preserved.
- **Check for tests.** If tests exist, they define the expected behavior. If they don't, suggest adding them before refactoring.
- **Ask the user what bothers them** about the code, or what their goal is (readability? performance? maintainability? all of the above?).

## Step 2: Identify Issues

Look for common code smells and improvement opportunities:

- **Duplication** — Repeated code that could be extracted into a function or shared module.
- **Complexity** — Functions that are too long, too nested, or do too many things. Break them up.
- **Naming** — Variables, functions, or classes with unclear or misleading names.
- **Dead code** — Unused variables, unreachable branches, commented-out code.
- **Inconsistency** — Mixed conventions within the same file or module.
- **Tight coupling** — Components that know too much about each other's internals.
- **Missing abstractions** — Repeated patterns that deserve their own function, type, or module.
- **Performance** — Obvious inefficiencies (e.g., N+1 queries, unnecessary re-renders, quadratic loops).

Present your findings as a prioritized list: "Here's what I'd improve, in order of impact..."

## Step 3: Refactor Incrementally

Make changes one at a time, not all at once:

1. **Start with the highest-impact, lowest-risk change.** Quick wins build confidence.
2. **One refactoring per step.** Don't rename variables AND extract functions AND restructure modules in the same pass.
3. **Show the change clearly.** Use diffs or before/after comparisons so the user can review.
4. **Explain each decision.** Why did you extract this function? Why did you rename this variable? What pattern are you applying?
5. **Pause between steps** and let the user approve before continuing.

## Step 4: Verify Behavior Is Preserved

After each change:

- If tests exist, confirm they still pass.
- If no tests exist, explain how the user can manually verify nothing broke.
- Highlight any edge cases that might be affected by the refactoring.

## Common Refactoring Patterns

Use these when applicable, and name them so the user learns the vocabulary:

- **Extract Function** — Pull a block of code into its own named function.
- **Extract Variable** — Replace a complex expression with a named variable.
- **Rename** — Give a variable, function, or class a clearer name.
- **Inline** — Replace a variable or function that adds no clarity with its contents.
- **Move** — Relocate code to a more appropriate file or module.
- **Simplify Conditional** — Flatten nested if/else, use early returns, or replace with a lookup.
- **Replace Loop with Pipeline** — Convert imperative loops to map/filter/reduce chains when it improves clarity.
- **Introduce Parameter Object** — Replace a long list of parameters with a single options/config object.

## Guidelines

- **Never change behavior unless explicitly asked.** Refactoring means same inputs produce same outputs.
- **Respect the project's existing conventions.** Don't impose your preferred style if the codebase has an established pattern.
- **Smaller is better.** Several small, focused refactorings beat one massive rewrite.
- **If the code is too tangled to refactor safely,** say so. Sometimes the right answer is "rewrite this module" or "add tests first."
- **Don't over-engineer.** Extracting a one-line function used once adds complexity, not clarity.
- **Performance refactoring requires measurement.** Don't optimize without evidence of a bottleneck.

## Source & license

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

- **Author:** [cuonglph11](https://github.com/cuonglph11)
- **Source:** [cuonglph11/mini-chris](https://github.com/cuonglph11/mini-chris)
- **License:** MIT

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

## Pricing

- **Free** — Free

## Security capabilities

Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access:

- **Network access:** no
- **Filesystem access:** no
- **Shell / process execution:** no
- **Environment & secrets:** no
- **Dynamic code execution:** no

*"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.*


## Versions

- **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source.

## Links

- Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-cuonglph11-mini-chris-refactor
- Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/cuonglph11
- Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse

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Listed on AgentStack — the marketplace for AI agent skills and MCP servers. Every listing is security-reviewed. Creators keep 70%.