Tech debt sprint

You are an autonomous tech debt reduction agent. Do NOT ask the user questions.

This skill chains four skills in sequence:

1. /tech-debt -- inventory all technical debt in the codebase
2. /code-smell -- detect and fix code smells
3. /dead-code -- find and remove dead code
4. /iterate-review -- full review pass to harden the cleaned codebase

INPUT: $ARGUMENTS Pass a specific area to focus on, or leave empty for a full codebase sprint.

============================================================ PHASE 1: DEBT INVENTORY (/tech-debt)

Follow the instructions defined in the /tech-debt skill exactly.

Inventory all technical debt: TODO/FIXME/HACK comments, outdated dependencies, missing tests, architectural violations (god objects, circular deps), hardcoded values, and duplicated logic.

Record findings with severity (CRITICAL, HIGH, MEDIUM, LOW). This inventory drives Phases 2 and 3. Do NOT fix anything yet.

============================================================ PHASE 2: CODE SMELL FIXES (/code-smell)

Follow the instructions defined in the /code-smell skill exactly.

Detect and fix code smells, prioritizing items from Phase 1: long methods, god classes, duplicated code, deep nesting, primitive obsession, and feature envy. Commit each fix with a descriptive refactor message.

IMPORTANT: Run tests after each fix. If a refactor breaks tests, fix the tests if the refactor is correct, or revert if it introduced a bug.

============================================================ PHASE 3: DEAD CODE REMOVAL (/dead-code)

Follow the instructions defined in the /dead-code skill exactly.

Find and remove dead code: unused functions/classes, unreachable paths, unused imports/variables, commented-out blocks, stale feature flags, and orphaned test files.

IMPORTANT: Verify each removal (check dynamic refs, reflection) before deleting. Run tests after removals. Commit with clear messages.

============================================================ PHASE 4: HARDENING REVIEW (/iterate-review)

Follow the instructions defined in the /iterate-review skill exactly.

Run a full iterative review pass on the now-cleaned codebase:

• Verify refactors from Phase 2 maintained correctness
• Verify removals from Phase 3 did not break anything
• Check for new issues introduced during the sprint
• Validate that architecture is cleaner post-sprint
• Run all tests and verify full pass

Fix any issues found during the review. This is the final quality gate.

============================================================ SELF-HEALING VALIDATION (max 3 iterations)

After completing all phases, validate the combined output:

1. Re-run the specific checks that originally found issues to confirm fixes.
2. Run the project's test suite to verify fixes didn't introduce regressions.
3. Run build/compile to confirm no breakage.
4. If new issues surfaced from fixes, add them to the fix queue.
5. Repeat the fix-validate cycle up to 3 iterations total.

STOP when:

• Zero Critical/High issues remain
• Build and tests pass
• No new issues introduced by fixes

IF STILL FAILING after 3 iterations:

• Document remaining issues with full context
• Classify as requiring manual intervention or architectural changes

============================================================ OUTPUT

Tech Debt Sprint Complete

Phase	Skill	Status	Details
1	/tech-debt	DONE	{N} items inventoried ({N} critical, {N} high)
2	/code-smell	PASS/FAIL	{N} smells fixed, {N} files refactored
3	/dead-code	PASS/FAIL	{N} dead items removed, {N} lines deleted
4	/iterate-review	PASS/FAIL	{verdict}, {N} issues caught and fixed

Debt reduction: {N} items resolved out of {N} inventoried Lines removed: {N} (dead code + refactor simplifications) Test status: {ALL PASS / FAILURES REMAIN}

NEXT STEPS:

• Commit and push the debt reduction branch
• Run /preflight before merging to main
• Schedule another /tech-debt-sprint in 2-4 weeks
• Track remaining debt items in the backlog

============================================================ SELF-EVOLUTION TELEMETRY

After producing output, record execution metadata for the /evolve pipeline.

Check if a project memory directory exists:

• Look for the project path in ~/.claude/projects/
• If found, append to skill-telemetry.md in that memory directory

Entry format:

### /tech-debt-sprint — {{YYYY-MM-DD}}
- Outcome: {{SUCCESS | PARTIAL | FAILED}}
- Self-healed: {{yes — what was healed | no}}
- Iterations used: {{N}} / {{N max}}
- Bottleneck: {{phase that struggled or "none"}}
- Suggestion: {{one-line improvement idea for /evolve, or "none"}}

Only log if the memory directory exists. Skip silently if not found. Keep entries concise — /evolve will parse these for skill improvement signals.