typed-holes-refactor

What problem does it solve?

Large-scale code refactoring is notoriously risky and complex, often leading to regressions or incomplete changes. This skill provides a formal, test-driven methodology ("Design by Typed Holes") to systematically identify architectural unknowns, resolve them iteratively, and continuously validate changes, ensuring safe and complete refactoring.

Core Features & Use Cases

• Hole Discovery & Resolution: Automatically analyzes your codebase to identify "holes" (architectural unknowns or areas for improvement) and guides you through their systematic, test-driven resolution.
• Continuous Validation: Ensures that characterization tests (capturing existing behavior) always pass, preventing regressions, while new validation tests confirm correct hole resolution.
• Constraint Propagation: Manages dependencies between refactoring tasks, propagating constraints and updating the refactor plan as holes are resolved.
• Comprehensive Reporting: Generates detailed reports on changes, metrics delta (LOC, complexity), and validation evidence, making the refactoring process transparent and verifiable.
• Use Case: When tackling significant technical debt or reorganizing a complex module, this skill will guide you from creating a safe branch and discovering architectural holes, through writing characterization tests, to iteratively resolving each hole with continuous validation, ensuring a robust and well-documented refactor.

Quick Start

I want to refactor the user authentication module. Please help me discover architectural holes and set up characterization tests.