Code Refactor

Systematic code refactoring across files. Auto-switches to execution mode for 10+ files (90% token savings).

Mode Selection

• 1-9 files: Use native tools (Grep + Edit with replace_all)

• 10+ files: Automatically use code-execution skill

Execution example (50 files):

from api.code_transform import rename_identifier result = rename_identifier('.', 'oldName', 'newName', '**/*.py')

Returns: {'files_modified': 50, 'total_replacements': 247}

~500 tokens vs ~25,000 tokens traditional

When to Use

• "rename [identifier] to [new_name]"

• "replace all [pattern] with [replacement]"

• "refactor to use [new_pattern]"

• "update all calls to [function/API]"

• "convert [old_pattern] to [new_pattern]"

Core Workflow (Native Mode)

1. Find All Occurrences

Grep(pattern="getUserData", output_mode="files_with_matches") # Find files Grep(pattern="getUserData", output_mode="content", -n=true, -B=2, -A=2) # Verify with context

2. Replace All Instances

Edit( file_path="src/api.js", old_string="getUserData", new_string="fetchUserData", replace_all=true )

3. Verify Changes

Grep(pattern="getUserData", output_mode="files_with_matches") # Should return none

Workflow Examples

Rename Function

• Find: Grep(pattern="getUserData", output_mode="files_with_matches")

• Count: "Found 15 occurrences in 5 files"

• Replace in each file with replace_all=true

• Verify: Re-run Grep

• Suggest: Run tests

Replace Deprecated Pattern

• Find: Grep(pattern="\bvar\s+\w+", output_mode="content", -n=true)

• Analyze: Check if reassigned (let) or constant (const)

• Replace: Edit(old_string="var count = 0", new_string="let count = 0")

• Verify: npm run lint

Update API Calls

• Find: Grep(pattern="/api/auth/login", output_mode="content", -n=true)

• Replace: Edit(old_string="'/api/auth/login'", new_string="'/api/v2/authentication/login'", replace_all=true)

• Test: Recommend integration tests

Best Practices

Planning:

• Find all instances first

• Review context of each match

• Inform user of scope

• Consider edge cases (strings, comments)

Safe Process:

• Search → Find all

• Analyze → Verify appropriate

• Inform → Tell user scope

• Execute → Make changes

• Verify → Confirm applied

• Test → Suggest running tests

Edge Cases:

• Strings/comments: Ask if should update

• Exported APIs: Warn of breaking changes

• Case sensitivity: Be explicit

Tool Reference

Edit with replace_all:

• replace_all=true : Replace all occurrences

• replace_all=false : Replace only first (or fail if multiple)

• Must match EXACTLY (whitespace, quotes)

Grep patterns:

• -n=true : Show line numbers

• -B=N, -A=N : Context lines

• -i=true : Case-insensitive

• type="py" : Filter by file type

Integration

• test-fixing: Fix broken tests after refactoring

• code-transfer: Move refactored code

• feature-planning: Plan large refactorings