rein-cleanup

Category: Tools & Productivity | Uploader: jstxn | Downloads: 0 | Version: v1.0（Latest）

Run a regression-tests-first cleanup/refactor workflow to reduce slop

Changelog: Source: GitHub https://github.com/jstxn/rein

Directory Structure

Current level: tree/main/.codex/skills/rein-cleanup/

📄 SKILL.md 4.0 KB

SKILL.md

---
name: rein-cleanup
description: Run a regression-tests-first cleanup/refactor workflow to reduce slop
---

# rein-cleanup

Reduce bloated, noisy, repetitive, or over-abstracted code with a regression-tests-first, smell-by-smell cleanup workflow that preserves behavior and raises signal quality.

## When to Use

Use this skill when:
- A code path works but feels bloated, noisy, repetitive, or over-abstracted
- A user asks to "cleanup", "refactor", or "deslop" output
- Follow-up implementation left duplicate code, dead code, weak boundaries, missing tests, or unnecessary wrapper layers
- You need a disciplined cleanup workflow without broad rewrites

## Scoped File Lists

- This skill can accept a file list scope instead of a whole feature area.
- When the caller provides a changed-files list, keep the cleanup strictly bounded to those files.

## Procedure

1. Lock behavior with regression tests first
   - Identify the behavior that must not change
   - Add or run targeted regression tests before editing cleanup candidates
   - If behavior is currently untested, create the narrowest test coverage needed first

2. Create a cleanup plan before code
   - List the specific smells to remove
   - Bound the pass to the requested files or scope
   - If a file list scope is provided, keep the pass restricted to that changed-files list
   - Order fixes from safest and highest-signal to riskiest
   - Prefer deletion or local simplification before helper extraction
   - Do not start coding until the cleanup plan is explicit

3. Categorize issues before editing
   - Duplication: repeated logic, copy-paste branches, redundant helpers
   - Dead code: unused code, unreachable branches, stale flags, debug leftovers
   - Needless abstraction: pass-through wrappers, speculative indirection, single-use helper layers
   - Boundary violations: hidden coupling, leaky responsibilities, wrong-layer imports or side effects
   - Missing tests: behavior not locked, weak regression coverage, gaps around edge cases

4. Execute passes one smell at a time
   - Pass 1: dead code deletion
   - Pass 2: duplicate removal
   - Before adding a helper or abstraction, confirm that deletion or local simplification is not enough
   - Pass 3: naming and error handling cleanup
   - Pass 4: test reinforcement
   - Re-run targeted verification after each pass
   - Avoid bundling unrelated refactors into the same edit set
   - Do not use cleanup as permission for unrelated refactors or architectural rewrites

5. Run quality gates
   - Regression tests stay green
   - Lint passes
   - Typecheck passes
   - Relevant unit and integration tests pass
   - Static or security scan passes when available
   - Diff stays minimal and scoped
   - No new abstractions unless they remove repeated real complexity
   - No new dependencies unless explicitly required

6. Finish with an evidence-dense report
   - Changed files
   - Simplifications made
   - Tests, diagnostics, or build checks run
   - Remaining risks
   - Residual follow-ups or consciously deferred cleanup

## Output Guidance

Deliver the cleanup result as a normal agent response in natural language.

- Do not wrap the cleanup summary in a fenced markdown block unless the user explicitly asks for raw markdown.
- A short paragraph plus flat bullets is preferred over a rigid template.
- Cover:
  - scope
  - behavior lock
  - cleanup plan
  - passes completed
  - quality gates
  - changed files
  - remaining risks
- Use explicit `PASS` or `FAIL` labels only when they add clarity; otherwise speak plainly as the agent.

## Scenario Examples

Good:
- The user says `continue` after tests already lock behavior and the next smell pass is clear. Continue with the next bounded cleanup pass.
- The user narrows the scope to a specific file after planning. Keep the regression-tests-first workflow, but apply the new scope locally.

Bad:
- Start rewriting architecture before protecting behavior with tests.
- Collapse multiple smell categories into one large refactor with no intermediate verification.

Comments 0

Latest | Hot

Please login before commenting.

Loading comments...

rein-cleanup

Directory Structure

SKILL.md

Report

Notice