Agent skill

Code Refactoring

by julianromli in julianromli/opencode-template

Code refactoring patterns and techniques for improving code quality without changing behavior.

MITAuto-check passedDevelopment

Install Code Refactoring

skills CLI
$ npx skills add julianromli/opencode-template --skill code-refactoring -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install julianromli/opencode-template code-refactoring --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/julianromli/opencode-template.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skill/code-refactoring .claude/skills/code-refactoring && 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/

Facts

Skill name
code-refactoring
GitHub stars
144
Token cost
~1.3k tokens
SKILL.md length
171 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
16
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Code refactoring patterns and techniques for improving code quality without changing behavior.

  • Works in 5 steps: Ensure tests exist - Write tests if they… → Make small changes - One refactoring at… → Run tests after each change - Catch… → …
  • Cleaning up legacy code
  • SKILL.md covers Refactoring Principles, Common Code Smells, Refactoring Techniques and Safe Refactoring Process, plus 1 more section
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Code Refactoring is an agent skill from julianromli/opencode-template. Code refactoring patterns and techniques for improving code quality without changing behavior. Use for cleaning up legacy code, reducing complexity, or improving maintainability.

Its SKILL.md is about 1.3k 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 Refactoring and Code quality. The repository describes itself as: OpenCode CLI Template by @faizntfd. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Cleaning up legacy code
  • Reducing complexity
  • Improving maintainability

Example prompts

  • “/code-refactoring”

Workflow steps

5 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. Ensure tests exist - Write tests if they don't
  2. Make small changes - One refactoring at a time
  3. Run tests after each change - Catch regressions immediately
  4. Commit frequently - Easy to revert if something breaks
  5. Review the diff - Make sure behavior hasn't changed

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 37ceab2. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md (its code samples are typescript).

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    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

Code Refactoring loads about 1.3k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 49 tokens; SKILL.md has 171 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~49
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~1.3k

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 passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

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 julianromli/opencode-template at commit 37ceab2, republished under its MIT licence (© julianromli). 171 words, ~1,293 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/code-refactoring/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
code-refactoring
description
Code refactoring patterns and techniques for improving code quality without changing behavior. Use for cleaning up legacy code, reducing complexity, or improving maintainability.
source
wshobson/agents
license
MIT

Code Refactoring

Refactoring Principles

When to Refactor
  • Before adding new features (make change easy, then make easy change)
  • After getting tests passing (red-green-refactor)
  • When you see code smells
  • During code review feedback
When NOT to Refactor
  • Without tests covering the code
  • Under tight deadlines with no safety net
  • Code that will be replaced soon
  • When you don't understand what the code does

Common Code Smells

Long Methods
typescript
// BEFORE: Method doing too much
function processOrder(order: Order) {
  // 100 lines of validation, calculation, notification, logging...
}

// AFTER: Extract into focused methods
function processOrder(order: Order) {
  validateOrder(order);
  const total = calculateTotal(order);
  saveOrder(order, total);
  notifyCustomer(order);
}
Deeply Nested Conditionals
typescript
// BEFORE: Arrow code
function getDiscount(user: User, order: Order) {
  if (user) {
    if (user.isPremium) {
      if (order.total > 100) {
        if (order.items.length > 5) {
          return 0.2;
        }
      }
    }
  }
  return 0;
}

// AFTER: Early returns (guard clauses)
function getDiscount(user: User, order: Order) {
  if (!user) return 0;
  if (!user.isPremium) return 0;
  if (order.total <= 100) return 0;
  if (order.items.length <= 5) return 0;
  return 0.2;
}
Primitive Obsession
typescript
// BEFORE: Primitives everywhere
function createUser(name: string, email: string, phone: string) {
  if (!email.includes('@')) throw new Error('Invalid email');
  // more validation...
}

// AFTER: Value objects
class Email {
  constructor(private value: string) {
    if (!value.includes('@')) throw new Error('Invalid email');
  }
  toString() { return this.value; }
}

function createUser(name: string, email: Email, phone: Phone) {
  // Email is already validated
}
Feature Envy
typescript
// BEFORE: Method uses another object's data extensively
function calculateShipping(order: Order) {
  const address = order.customer.address;
  const weight = order.items.reduce((sum, i) => sum + i.weight, 0);
  const distance = calculateDistance(address.zip);
  return weight * distance * 0.01;
}

// AFTER: Move method to where the data is
class Order {
  calculateShipping() {
    return this.totalWeight * this.customer.shippingDistance * 0.01;
  }
}

Refactoring Techniques

Extract Method
typescript
// Identify a code block that does one thing
// Move it to a new method with a descriptive name
// Replace original code with method call

function printReport(data: ReportData) {
  // Extract this block...
  const header = `Report: ${data.title}\nDate: ${data.date}\n${'='.repeat(40)}`;
  console.log(header);

  // ...into a method
  printHeader(data);
}
Replace Conditional with Polymorphism
typescript
// BEFORE: Switch on type
function getArea(shape: Shape) {
  switch (shape.type) {
    case 'circle': return Math.PI * shape.radius ** 2;
    case 'rectangle': return shape.width * shape.height;
    case 'triangle': return shape.base * shape.height / 2;
  }
}

// AFTER: Polymorphic classes
interface Shape {
  getArea(): number;
}

class Circle implements Shape {
  constructor(private radius: number) {}
  getArea() { return Math.PI * this.radius ** 2; }
}

class Rectangle implements Shape {
  constructor(private width: number, private height: number) {}
  getArea() { return this.width * this.height; }
}
Introduce Parameter Object
typescript
// BEFORE: Too many parameters
function searchProducts(
  query: string,
  minPrice: number,
  maxPrice: number,
  category: string,
  inStock: boolean,
  sortBy: string,
  sortOrder: string
) { ... }

// AFTER: Parameter object
interface SearchParams {
  query: string;
  priceRange: { min: number; max: number };
  category?: string;
  inStock?: boolean;
  sort?: { by: string; order: 'asc' | 'desc' };
}

function searchProducts(params: SearchParams) { ... }
Replace Magic Numbers with Constants
typescript
// BEFORE
if (user.age >= 18 && order.total >= 50) {
  applyDiscount(order, 0.1);
}

// AFTER
const MINIMUM_AGE = 18;
const DISCOUNT_THRESHOLD = 50;
const STANDARD_DISCOUNT = 0.1;

if (user.age >= MINIMUM_AGE && order.total >= DISCOUNT_THRESHOLD) {
  applyDiscount(order, STANDARD_DISCOUNT);
}

Safe Refactoring Process

  1. Ensure tests exist - Write tests if they don't
  2. Make small changes - One refactoring at a time
  3. Run tests after each change - Catch regressions immediately
  4. Commit frequently - Easy to revert if something breaks
  5. Review the diff - Make sure behavior hasn't changed

Refactoring Checklist

  • Tests pass before starting
  • Each change is small and focused
  • Tests pass after each change
  • No behavior changes (only structure)
  • Code is more readable than before
  • Commit message explains the refactoring

© julianromli, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in skill/code-refactoring of julianromli/opencode-template.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 37ceab2

Compare with similar skills

Code Refactoring 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.

Code Refactoring compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Code Refactoring this skilljulianromli/opencode-template144—~1.3kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Systematic Code Refactoringluongnv89/claude-howto42k—~3kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Dignified Python Standardsdocling-project/docling68k—~1.5kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Clean Code GuardamElnagdy/guard-skills1.3k2 repos~4.3kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Code Refactoring Workflowluongnv89/claude-howto42k—~3.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Maintainable Code for iPolloWorkDevin-AXIS/iPolloWork6.7k—~2.7kAutomated safety check: PassCustom licence

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Categories

Questions about Code Refactoring

What does Code Refactoring do?

Code refactoring patterns and techniques for improving code quality without changing behavior. Code Refactoring is an agent skill from julianromli/opencode-template. Code refactoring patterns and techniques for improving code quality without changing behavior.

When should I use Code Refactoring?

Code Refactoring fits situations like: cleaning up legacy code; reducing complexity; improving maintainability.

How do I install Code Refactoring in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add julianromli/opencode-template --skill code-refactoring -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skill/code-refactoring in julianromli/opencode-template) into .claude/skills/code-refactoring in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Code Refactoring in Codex?

Run `npx skills add julianromli/opencode-template --skill code-refactoring -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skill/code-refactoring in julianromli/opencode-template) into .agents/skills/code-refactoring in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Code Refactoring 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 julianromli/opencode-template --skill code-refactoring -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/code-refactoring, .gemini/skills/code-refactoring, .github/skills/code-refactoring and .opencode/skills/code-refactoring in your project.

What does Code Refactoring need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Code Refactoring is instructions for the agent only.

Does Code Refactoring access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Code Refactoring safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Code Refactoring use?

Code Refactoring is published under the MIT licence (declared in SKILL.md). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Code Refactoring use?

About 1.3k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 5.2k 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 Code Refactoring?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Code Refactoring: Systematic Code Refactoring (luongnv89/claude-howto, 42k stars), Dignified Python Standards (docling-project/docling, 68k stars), Clean Code Guard (amElnagdy/guard-skills, 1.3k stars) and Code Refactoring Workflow (luongnv89/claude-howto, 42k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Code Refactoring?

julianromli (a GitHub user) maintains it in julianromli/opencode-template, which has 144 GitHub stars. The repository holds 16 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on February 3, 2026.

Source: julianromli/opencode-template on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.