Refactor with Confidence Workflow

Purpose

Perform safe, systematic code refactoring with test protection and full tracking. Combines Sherpa's refactor workflow guidance, Julie's safe refactoring tools, and Goldfish's before/after state preservation.

When to Activate

• "refactor this code", "cleanup", "improve code quality"
• "reorganize", "simplify", "optimize"
• "extract", "rename", "restructure"

Trinity for Safe Refactoring

Sherpa: Guides refactor phases (Tests → Refactor → Verify) Julie: Safe renames, reference checking, impact analysis Goldfish: Pre/post state checkpoints, decision tracking

Orchestration

Pre-Refactor: Baseline State

1. Goldfish: checkpoint({ description: "Pre-refactor baseline: [current state]" })
2. Sherpa: approach({ workflow: "refactor" })
3. Julie: get_symbols → Capture current structure

Phase 1: Tests First (Sherpa)

guide() → "Ensure test coverage exists"

Check existing tests:
- Run test suite
- Verify coverage for code being refactored
- Add missing tests if needed

checkpoint({ description: "Verified test coverage for [component]" })
guide({ done: "test coverage verified" })

Phase 2: Refactor Code (Julie + Sherpa)

guide() → "Refactor while staying green"

Julie safe refactoring:
- fast_refs → Check all references before rename
- rename_symbol → Workspace-wide safe rename
- fuzzy_replace → Targeted improvements
- Tests stay green throughout!

checkpoint({ description: "Refactored: [specific changes made]" })
guide({ done: "refactoring complete, tests still green" })

Phase 3: Verify (Sherpa + Goldfish)

guide() → "Verify no regressions"

Verification:
- Run full test suite → All green
- get_symbols → Verify structure
- fast_refs → Check updated references

checkpoint({ description: "Refactor verified: all tests pass, [N] files updated" })
guide({ done: "verified refactor, all tests pass" })

Example: Extract Helper Class

User: "This UserService is too big, extract validation logic"

PRE-REFACTOR:
→ checkpoint({ description: "Pre-refactor: UserService 487 lines with inline validation" })
→ approach({ workflow: "refactor" })

PHASE 1: TESTS
→ guide()
→ Run tests → 23 tests pass ✅
→ checkpoint({ description: "Verified UserService has 23 passing tests" })

PHASE 2: REFACTOR
→ guide()
→ Julie: Create UserValidator class
→ Julie: fuzzy_replace to extract validation methods
→ Julie: rename_symbol to update references
→ Tests → 23 tests still pass ✅
→ checkpoint({ description: "Extracted UserValidator class, UserService now 312 lines" })

PHASE 3: VERIFY
→ guide()
→ fast_refs({ symbol: "UserService" }) → All references updated
→ get_symbols → Structure cleaner
→ Full test suite → 23 tests pass ✅
→ checkpoint({ description: "Refactor complete: UserService 312 lines, UserValidator 175 lines, all 23 tests pass" })

Result: Clean separation, all tests green, tracked in Goldfish!

Key Behaviors

✅ DO:

• Checkpoint before and after
• Ensure tests exist first
• Use Julie's safe tools
• Keep tests green throughout
• Verify all references updated

❌ DON'T:

• Refactor without tests
• Skip reference checking
• Break tests during refactoring
• Forget final verification

Safe refactoring: Test → Refactor → Verify. Sherpa guides, Julie protects, Goldfish preserves!