Official agent skill

Techdebt

Review a code diff / branch / PR for technical debt — code duplication, unnecessary complexity / over-engineering, and redundant or dead code.

OfficialApache-2.0Auto-check: notesDevelopment

Install Techdebt

skills CLI

$ npx skills add DataDog/dd-trace-java --skill techdebt -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install DataDog/dd-trace-java techdebt --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/DataDog/dd-trace-java.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/techdebt .claude/skills/techdebt && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Paste into Claude Code

Install the "techdebt" agent skill from https://github.com/DataDog/dd-trace-java/tree/master/.agents/skills/techdebt into .claude/skills/techdebt/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "techdebt", then confirm the skill loads.

Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

$skill-installer

$skill-installer install https://github.com/DataDog/dd-trace-java/tree/master/.agents/skills/techdebt

Type this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add DataDog/dd-trace-java --skill techdebt -a codex

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install DataDog/dd-trace-java techdebt --agent codex

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/DataDog/dd-trace-java.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/techdebt .agents/skills/techdebt && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.

Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/

Paste into Codex

Install the "techdebt" agent skill from https://github.com/DataDog/dd-trace-java/tree/master/.agents/skills/techdebt into .agents/skills/techdebt/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "techdebt", then confirm the skill loads.

Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add DataDog/dd-trace-java --skill techdebt -a cursor

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install DataDog/dd-trace-java techdebt --agent cursor

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/DataDog/dd-trace-java.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/techdebt .cursor/skills/techdebt && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.

Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/

Paste into Cursor

Install the "techdebt" agent skill from https://github.com/DataDog/dd-trace-java/tree/master/.agents/skills/techdebt into .cursor/skills/techdebt/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "techdebt", then confirm the skill loads.

Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

gemini skills install

$ gemini skills install https://github.com/DataDog/dd-trace-java.git --path .agents/skills/techdebt

--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add DataDog/dd-trace-java --skill techdebt -a gemini-cli

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install DataDog/dd-trace-java techdebt --agent gemini-cli

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/DataDog/dd-trace-java.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/techdebt .gemini/skills/techdebt && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.

Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into Gemini CLI

Install the "techdebt" agent skill from https://github.com/DataDog/dd-trace-java/tree/master/.agents/skills/techdebt into .gemini/skills/techdebt/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "techdebt", then confirm the skill loads.

Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install DataDog/dd-trace-java techdebt

Installs for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

skills CLI

$ npx skills add DataDog/dd-trace-java --skill techdebt -a github-copilot

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/DataDog/dd-trace-java.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/techdebt .github/skills/techdebt && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.

GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into GitHub Copilot

Install the "techdebt" agent skill from https://github.com/DataDog/dd-trace-java/tree/master/.agents/skills/techdebt into .github/skills/techdebt/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "techdebt", then confirm the skill loads.

GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add DataDog/dd-trace-java --skill techdebt -a opencode

OpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install DataDog/dd-trace-java techdebt --agent opencode

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/DataDog/dd-trace-java.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/techdebt .opencode/skills/techdebt && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.

OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into OpenCode

Install the "techdebt" agent skill from https://github.com/DataDog/dd-trace-java/tree/master/.agents/skills/techdebt into .opencode/skills/techdebt/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "techdebt", then confirm the skill loads.

OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

Facts

Skill name: techdebt
GitHub stars: 736
Token cost: ~565 tokens
SKILL.md length: 168 words
Files: 1
Skills in repo: 9
Repo updated: Oct 7, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: Apache-2.0

At a glance

Review a code diff / branch / PR for technical debt — code duplication, unnecessary complexity / over-engineering, and redundant or dead code.

Works in 3 steps: Get Branch Changes → Analyze for Issues → Report and Fix
The user wants a tech-debt
Calls git
Refactor review

What it does

Techdebt is an agent skill from DataDog/dd-trace-java, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Review a code diff / branch / PR for technical debt — code duplication, unnecessary complexity / over-engineering, and redundant or dead code. Use whenever the user wants a tech-debt, cleanup, or refactor review, asks to check a branch or PR for duplication / complexity / dead code before opening a PR, or mentions "techdebt". Refactor-only: it reports issues and offers behavior-preserving fixes; it never changes behavior.

Its SKILL.md is about 570 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in Development, covering Technical debt, Code simplification and Refactoring. It works with Datadog. The repository describes itself as: Datadog APM client for Java. The licence is Apache-2.0.

When your agent uses it

The user wants a tech-debt
Refactor review
Asks to check a branch
PR for duplication / complexity / dead code before opening a PR

Example prompts

“techdebt”
“/techdebt”

Requirements

Pre-approved tools (allowed-tools): Bash, Read, Grep, Glob

Workflow steps

3 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

Get Branch Changes
Analyze for Issues
Report and Fix

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 89321ee. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

Tool permissions
Pre-approves these tools, so the agent can use them without asking each time:
- Bash
- Read
- Grep
- Glob
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
- git
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md. Its commands use git, which can reach the network depending on how they are called.
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Techdebt loads about 565 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 109 tokens; SKILL.md has 168 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~109
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~565

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check: notes

The automated check noted patterns worth knowing about, such as sudo or a known installer.

NotePre-approves every shell command (allowed-tools: Bash)SKILL.md
```
allowed-tools: Bash, Read, Grep, Glob
```

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from DataDog/dd-trace-java at commit 89321ee, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© DataDog). 168 words, ~565 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/techdebt/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).

name: techdebt
description: Review a code diff / branch / PR for technical debt — code duplication, unnecessary complexity / over-engineering, and redundant or dead code. Use whenever the user wants a tech-debt, cleanup, or refactor review, asks to check a branch or PR for duplication / complexity / dead code before opening a PR, or mentions "techdebt". Refactor-only: it reports issues and offers behavior-preserving fixes; it never changes behavior.
allowed-tools: Bash, Read, Grep, Glob
user-invocable: true
context: fork

Techdebt Cleanup Skill

Analyze changes on the current branch to identify and fix technical debt, code duplication, and unnecessary complexity.

Instructions

Step 1: Get Branch Changes

Find the merge-base (where this branch diverged from master) and compare against it:

bash

# Find upstream (DataDog org repo)
UPSTREAM=$(git remote -v | grep -E 'DataDog/[^/]+(.git)?\s' | head -1 | awk '{print $1}')
if [ -z "$UPSTREAM" ]; then
  echo "No DataDog upstream found, using origin"
  UPSTREAM="origin"
fi

# Find the merge-base (commit where this branch diverged from master)
MERGE_BASE=$(git merge-base HEAD ${UPSTREAM}/master)
echo "Comparing changes introduced on this branch since diverging from master using base commit: $MERGE_BASE"

git diff $MERGE_BASE --stat
git diff $MERGE_BASE --name-status

If no changes exist, inform the user and stop.

If changes exist, read the diff and the full content of modified source files (not test files) to understand context.

Step 2: Analyze for Issues

Look for:

Code Duplication

Similar code blocks that should be extracted into shared functions
Copy-pasted logic with minor variations

Unnecessary Complexity

Over-engineered solutions (abstractions used only once)
Excessive indirection or layers
Backward compatibility shims that aren't needed

Redundant Code

Dead code paths
Overly defensive checks for impossible scenarios

Step 3: Report and Fix

Present a concise summary of issues found with file:line references.

Then ask the user if they want you to fix the issues. When fixing:

Make one logical change at a time
Do NOT change behavior, only refactor
Skip trivial or stylistic issues

Files

Just SKILL.md in .agents/skills/techdebt of DataDog/dd-trace-java.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 89321ee

Compare with similar skills

Techdebt next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Techdebt compared with similar skills
Skill	Stars	Used in	Tokens	Auto-check	Licence	Repo updated
Techdebt this skillDataDog/dd-trace-java	736	—	~565	Automated safety check: Notes	Apache-2.0	today
Code Simplification for ego-litecitrolabs/ego-lite	17k	—	~1.2k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	14 days ago
Codebase Health Refactoringkucherenko/jscpd	6.3k	—	~2.5k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	today
DRY Refactoring With jscpdkucherenko/jscpd	6.3k	—	~2.1k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	today
Dead Code Removal with Knipshift-editor/shift	343	—	~1.8k	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	today
Code RefinerMathews-Tom/armory	327	—	~3.1k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	yesterday

Similar skills

Code Simplification for ego-lite
citrolabs/ego-lite
Finds and implements evidence-backed simplifications in the ego-lite repository, such as dead code, duplicated state and speculative abstractions, without hiding behavior changes.
17k GitHub stars~1.2k tokensUpdated 14 days ago
DevelopmentAuto-check passed
Codebase Health Refactoring
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A three-part cleanup guided by jscpd: measure health, then fix duplicated code, remove dead code and simplify the most complex files, finishing by re-measuring the score.
6.3k GitHub stars~2.5k tokensUpdated today
DevelopmentAuto-check passed
DRY Refactoring With jscpd
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Removes copy-paste duplication found by jscpd, starting with exact clones and hotspots, then renamed and near-miss copies, using proven refactoring strategies.
6.3k GitHub stars~2.1k tokensUpdated today
DevelopmentAuto-check passed
Dead Code Removal with Knip
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Finds unused files, exports and class members with Knip, then verifies each candidate through reference tracing before removing anything, never using knip --fix.
343 GitHub stars~1.8k tokensUpdated today
DevelopmentAuto-check passed
Code Refiner
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Deep code simplification and refactoring preserving behavior across Python, Go, TypeScript, Rust.
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DevelopmentAuto-check passed
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Questions about Techdebt

What does Techdebt do?

Review a code diff / branch / PR for technical debt — code duplication, unnecessary complexity / over-engineering, and redundant or dead code. Techdebt is an agent skill from DataDog/dd-trace-java, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Review a code diff / branch / PR for technical debt — code duplication, unnecessary complexity / over-engineering, and redundant or dead code.

When should I use Techdebt?

Techdebt fits situations like: the user wants a tech-debt; refactor review; asks to check a branch; PR for duplication / complexity / dead code before opening a PR.

How do I install Techdebt in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add DataDog/dd-trace-java --skill techdebt -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.agents/skills/techdebt in DataDog/dd-trace-java) into .claude/skills/techdebt in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Techdebt in Codex?

Run `npx skills add DataDog/dd-trace-java --skill techdebt -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.agents/skills/techdebt in DataDog/dd-trace-java) into .agents/skills/techdebt in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Techdebt in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add DataDog/dd-trace-java --skill techdebt -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/techdebt, .gemini/skills/techdebt, .github/skills/techdebt and .opencode/skills/techdebt in your project.

What does Techdebt need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Techdebt needs the command-line tools its instructions call (git). Its frontmatter pre-approves these tools: Bash, Read, Grep, Glob.

Does Techdebt access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Its commands use git, which can reach the network depending on how they are called. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Techdebt safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found notes only (pre-approves every shell command (allowed-tools: bash)), nothing it rates as a warning. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Techdebt use?

Techdebt is published under the Apache-2.0 licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Techdebt use?

About 565 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 2.3k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Techdebt?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Techdebt: Code Simplification for ego-lite (citrolabs/ego-lite, 17k stars), Codebase Health Refactoring (kucherenko/jscpd, 6.3k stars), DRY Refactoring With jscpd (kucherenko/jscpd, 6.3k stars) and Dead Code Removal with Knip (shift-editor/shift, 343 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Techdebt?

DataDog (a GitHub organization, an official publisher) maintains it in DataDog/dd-trace-java, which has 736 GitHub stars. The repository holds 9 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 7, 2026.

Source: DataDog/dd-trace-java on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.

Techdebt

Install Techdebt

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Requirements

Workflow steps

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

Techdebt Cleanup Skill

Instructions

Step 1: Get Branch Changes

Step 2: Analyze for Issues

Step 3: Report and Fix

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

Code Simplification for ego-lite

Codebase Health Refactoring

DRY Refactoring With jscpd

Dead Code Removal with Knip

Code Refiner

Systematic Code Refactoring

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Questions about Techdebt

Install Techdebt

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Requirements

Workflow steps

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

Techdebt Cleanup Skill

Instructions

Step 1: Get Branch Changes

Step 2: Analyze for Issues

Step 3: Report and Fix

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

More from DataDog/dd-trace-java

Related

Questions about Techdebt