Guides

Automated Refactoring Patterns

Common code patterns that can be safely automated and how to implement them with Autohand.

Tip: These guides demonstrate a modified version of the Autohand CLI built for Enterprise customers. Feel free to fork the Autohand CLI to add support for these features in your own environment.

Related Skills: Reduce your technical debt with specialized skills from Skilled. Browse code quality and refactoring skills, debt reduction workflows, and language-specific cleanup skills.

Understanding technical debt

Technical debt accumulates when teams prioritize speed over code quality. Autohand helps identify and resolve common debt patterns systematically.

  • Code duplication across modules
  • Outdated dependencies with security vulnerabilities
  • Complex functions exceeding maintainability thresholds
  • Missing or outdated documentation

Detecting technical debt

Run a debt analysis to identify problem areas:

# Full codebase analysis
autohand debt analyze --report debt-report.html

# Focus on specific patterns
autohand debt analyze --patterns duplication,complexity

# Integrate with CI
autohand debt check --threshold moderate --fail-on-increase

The report categorizes issues by severity and provides estimated remediation effort.

Eliminating duplication

Autohand identifies and consolidates duplicate code:

# Find duplicate patterns
autohand refactor find-duplicates --min-lines 10

# Extract common functions
autohand refactor extract-common \
  --source src/modules/ \
  --target src/shared/

# Preview changes
autohand refactor extract-common --dry-run

Reducing complexity

Break down complex functions into maintainable units:

# Find functions exceeding complexity threshold
autohand refactor complexity --threshold 15

# Suggest decomposition
autohand refactor simplify --file src/handlers/payment.ts

# Apply with review
autohand refactor simplify --interactive

Autohand suggests logical boundaries for function extraction based on data flow analysis.

Dependency management

Keep dependencies updated and secure:

# Audit dependencies
autohand deps audit

# Update with compatibility checks
autohand deps update --safe

# Fix security vulnerabilities
autohand deps fix --severity high

# Generate upgrade plan
autohand deps plan --target latest

Continuous debt reduction

Integrate debt reduction into your workflow:

# .github/workflows/debt-reduction.yml
name: Technical Debt Check
on: [pull_request]

jobs:
  debt-check:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: Run debt analysis
        run: |
          autohand debt check \
            --baseline main \
            --fail-on-increase

This prevents new debt from entering the codebase while allowing gradual improvement.

Prioritization framework

Focus on high-impact improvements:

  • Security: Fix vulnerabilities immediately
  • Stability: Address code causing production issues
  • Velocity: Refactor areas slowing development
  • Maintainability: Improve code for long-term health