New: 97,000+ skills indexed from GitHub repos with 100+ stars · every skill safety-checkedBrowse top skillsTop skills
Esc to closeBrowse all skills
Submit a skillBrowse skills
Submit a skillBrowse skills

Agent skill

Refactoring

by lexler in lexler/skill-factory

Refactoring process. An agent skill from lexler/skill-factory.

Apache-2.0Auto-check passedDevelopment

Install Refactoring

skills CLI
$ npx skills add lexler/skill-factory --skill refactoring -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install lexler/skill-factory 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/lexler/skill-factory.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/output_skills/practices/refactoring .claude/skills/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
refactoring
GitHub stars
239
Token cost
~707 tokens
SKILL.md length
387 words
Files
3 (incl. references)
Skills in repo
25
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
Apache-2.0

At a glance

Refactoring process. An agent skill from lexler/skill-factory.

  • Works in 4 steps: Prep → Main Refactoring → Final Evaluation → …
  • Document mentions refactoring
  • SKILL.md covers Stages, Test Code Policy, 1. Prep and 2. Main Refactoring, plus 3 more sections
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Refactoring is an agent skill from lexler/skill-factory. Refactoring process. Invoke immediately when user or document mentions refactoring, or proactively when code gets too complex or messy.

Its SKILL.md is about 710 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 3 other files, including reference files (for example `credits.md` and `references/java.md`).

It sits in Development, covering Refactoring. The licence is Apache-2.0.

When your agent uses it

  • Document mentions refactoring
  • Proactively when code gets too complex

Example prompts

  • “/refactoring”

Workflow steps

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

  1. Prep
  2. Main Refactoring
  3. Final Evaluation
  4. Summary

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 8017333. 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.

    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

Refactoring loads about 707 tokens when it runs, and up to ~736 if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 37 tokens; SKILL.md has 387 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~37
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~707
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them
~736

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 lexler/skill-factory at commit 8017333, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© lexler). 387 words, ~707 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/refactoring/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 2 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
refactoring
description
Refactoring process. Invoke immediately when user or document mentions refactoring, or proactively when code gets too complex or messy.

Refactoring Production Code

STARTER_CHARACTER = 🟣

When starting, announce: "🟣 Using REFACTORING skill".

Work autonomously as much as possible. Start with the simplest thing or file and proceed to the more complex ones.

Stages

  1. Prep
  2. Main Refactoring
  3. Final Evaluation
  4. Summary

Test Code Policy

Do not change test code during refactoring, except:

  • Renames that follow production code renames (imports, function calls)
  • Import path updates if something moved

Never change test assertions, test data, or test logic.

1. Prep

  • Determine scope: use specified files, or identify related files (imports, shared functionality), or ask user
  • Add files in scope to todo list
  • Find or create ./test.sh, verify all tests pass
  • Remove comments from files in scope (commit per file)

2. Main Refactoring

Code Style

Prefer self-explanatory, readable code over comments.

  • Use functional helper methods for clarity
  • Remove dead code
  • Extract paragraphs into methods
  • Use better variable names
  • Remove unused imports
  • Remove unhelpful local variables
  • Look for opportunities to simplify
  • Use domain language - name things for what they ARE, not how they're implemented
  • Keep consistent abstraction levels within methods
Process

For each refactor:

  1. Ensure all tests pass
  2. Choose and perform the simplest possible refactoring (one at a time)
  3. Ensure all tests pass after the change
  4. Commit each successful refactor with the message format: "- r <refactoring>" (the message must include the "- r" prefix) Prefer small granular commits. If applying the same refactoring pattern to multiple locations, change one location at a time and commit each separately.
  5. Provide a status update after each refactor
Show full SKILL.md (133 more words)Show less

3. Final Evaluation

When you see no more obvious refactoring opportunities, say "🔍 Entering final evaluation."

Shift focus: you've been implementing. Now become a critic. Your job is to find problems, not produce code.

Re-read Code Style guidelines. Look at each file in scope. Consider blind spots - what improvements haven't we even considered that would make the code better, easier, more maintainable?

For each file, find ONE thing that could be better. If you find something:

  1. Fix it using the same refactoring process (test, change, test, commit)
  2. Look again; fixing one thing often reveals the next

Repeat until you find nothing more to improve.

4. Summary

Provide a high-level summary of the refactoring:

  • List each file that was touched
  • Describe the key improvements made in each file

Language-Specific

For Java: See references/java.md

© lexler, Apache-2.0. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 2 other files (references) in output_skills/practices/refactoring of lexler/skill-factory.

  • SKILL.md
  • credits.md
  • references/java.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 8017333

Compare with similar skills

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.

Refactoring compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Refactoring this skilllexler/skill-factory239—~707Automated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Guidelinesakash-network/node1.1k22 repos~577Automated safety check: PassMIT
Component Refactoringlangflow-ai/langflow156k—~3.5kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Migrate Core Code to Submodulestinyhumansai/openhuman41k—~2.6kAutomated safety check: PassGPL-3.0
ast-grep Structural Searchcode-yeongyu/oh-my-openagent70k—~3.3kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Systematic Code Refactoringluongnv89/claude-howto42k—~3kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

Similar skills

  • Guidelines

    akash-network/node

    Behavioral guidelines to reduce common LLM coding mistakes. An agent skill from akash-network/node.

    1.1k GitHub starsUsed in 22 repos~577 tokens
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed

  • Component Refactoring

    langflow-ai/langflow

    Refactor high-complexity React components in Langflow frontend.

    156k GitHub stars~3.5k tokensUpdated today
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed

  • Migrate Core Code to Submodules

    tinyhumansai/openhuman

    Plans and carries out moving non-host-specific code and its tests from the OpenHuman core into vendored tiny submodule libraries, then releases the submodule and re-pins the host.

    41k GitHub stars~2.6k tokensUpdated today
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed

  • ast-grep Structural Search

    code-yeongyu/oh-my-openagent

    Searches and rewrites code by syntax-tree shape across 25 languages with ast-grep, for codemods, structural queries and YAML lint rules, using a Python wrapper script.

    70k GitHub stars~3.3k tokensUpdated today
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed

  • Systematic Code Refactoring

    luongnv89/claude-howto

    Guides refactoring in phases based on Martin Fowler's method: research, test coverage check, planning and small tested steps, with your approval at each phase.

    42k GitHub stars~3k tokensUpdated 7 days ago
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed

  • Codex

    skills-directory/skill-codex

    A skill your agent uses when the user asks to run Codex CLI (codex exec, codex resume) or references OpenAI Codex for code analysis, refactoring, or automated editing

    1.5k GitHub starsUsed in 3 repos~1.8k tokens
    DevelopmentAuto-check passed

More from lexler/skill-factory

All 25 skills in this repo

  • C4 Architecture Diagrams

    lexler/skill-factory

    Creates C4 model diagrams at every zoom level, from system landscape to code, in ASCII, Mermaid or Structurizr, for designing or documenting software architecture.

    239 GitHub stars~2.3k tokensUpdated 1 mo ago
    Auto-check passed

  • Launching Agent Teams

    lexler/skill-factory

    Plans and launches Claude Code agent teams with distinct roles, right-sized tasks and detailed spawn prompts, and says when subagents or worktrees fit better.

    239 GitHub stars~1.3k tokensUpdated 1 mo ago
    Auto-check passed

  • Claude Code Statusline Writer

    lexler/skill-factory

    Guides writing and debugging Claude Code status line scripts that read session JSON from stdin and print one line of text.

    239 GitHub stars~872 tokensUpdated 1 mo ago
    Auto-check passed

  • Augmented Coding Patterns Reference

    lexler/skill-factory

    Catalog of obstacles, anti-patterns and patterns for working with AI coding agents, covering context management and reliability, from a published patterns collection.

    239 GitHub stars~1.5k tokensUpdated 1 mo ago
    Auto-check passed

  • Approval Testing Toolkit

    lexler/skill-factory

    Writes snapshot-style approval tests in Python, JavaScript, TypeScript or Java, comparing output against an approved file instead of writing individual assertions.

    239 GitHub stars~1.2k tokensUpdated 1 mo ago
    Auto-check passed

  • Hotspots

    lexler/skill-factory

    Find where a codebase actually costs time by mining its git history (Tornhill hotspot analysis).

    239 GitHub stars~1.2k tokensUpdated 1 mo ago
    Auto-check passed

Categories

Questions about Refactoring

What does Refactoring do?

Refactoring process. An agent skill from lexler/skill-factory. Refactoring is an agent skill from lexler/skill-factory. Refactoring process.

When should I use Refactoring?

Refactoring fits situations like: document mentions refactoring; proactively when code gets too complex.

How do I install Refactoring in Claude Code?

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

How do I install Refactoring in Codex?

Run `npx skills add lexler/skill-factory --skill refactoring -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (output_skills/practices/refactoring in lexler/skill-factory) into .agents/skills/refactoring in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use 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 lexler/skill-factory --skill 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/refactoring, .gemini/skills/refactoring, .github/skills/refactoring and .opencode/skills/refactoring in your project.

What does Refactoring need to run?

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

Does 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 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 Refactoring use?

Refactoring 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 Refactoring use?

About 707 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 2.8k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 29 tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to Refactoring?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Refactoring: Guidelines (akash-network/node, 1.1k stars), Component Refactoring (langflow-ai/langflow, 156k stars), Migrate Core Code to Submodules (tinyhumansai/openhuman, 41k stars) and ast-grep Structural Search (code-yeongyu/oh-my-openagent, 70k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Refactoring?

lexler (a GitHub user) maintains it in lexler/skill-factory, which has 239 GitHub stars. The repository holds 25 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on August 26, 2026.

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