Safe refactor

Skill yeaight7/agent-powerups/skills/safe-refactor

Use when code needs restructuring without changing observable behavior.From its SKILL.md

Install

npx -y skills add yeaight7/agent-powerups --skill safe-refactor

Assembled from the repository path, not quoted from the project. Check it against their README if it does not work.

One thing to look at

6 stars6 stars. Stars are a popularity signal and not a quality one, but at this level it is likely that nobody has read this closely except its author, and you would be relying on your own review.

SKILL.md

1.9 KB, 380 tokens by cl100k_base, as published. Nobody here has run it

Purpose

Restructure code in small, safe steps while preserving all externally observable behavior. Prevents refactor regressions where behavior silently changes.

When to Use

Code needs structural improvement but its public API must remain unchanged.
Naming, organization, or duplication needs cleanup after a feature is complete.
Technical debt needs reduction without introducing risk.

Do not use this skill if there are no existing tests — write tests first.

Inputs

Code to refactor.
Existing test suite (required).
Optional: specific goals (extract function, rename module, remove duplication).

Workflow

Confirm behavior — Run the test suite. All tests must pass before starting.
Plan — List the structural changes. Check each for API impact.
Refactor in small steps — One change at a time, each independently reversible.
Avoid interface changes — Do not alter public APIs, exported types, or CLI behavior unless explicitly intended.
Validate after each step — Re-run targeted tests after each meaningful change.

Output

Changed:
- <structural change 1>
- <structural change 2>

Behavior unchanged because: <reasoning>

Validated by: <test commands run>

Verification

Tests pass before starting
Each step is small and independently reversible
No unintended API or interface changes introduced
Tests pass after each meaningful step
Final test suite fully green

Failure Modes

Missing tests — Stop. Write tests before refactoring. Behavior cannot be verified otherwise.
Silent API change — If a refactor touches public interfaces, stop and confirm this is intentional.
Bundled unrelated changes — Keep each step focused. Mixed changes make rollback and blame impossible.

What ships with it

Read from the repository

Just SKILL.md. No reference files, no scripts.

Gives 1 of the 12 instructions most refactoring skills give in 380 tokens

Counted across 545 of the 587 authors here whose files we hold, read 2026-09-06

Run tests after each changein 61 of 545, across 59 files
Run tests before refactoringin 42 of 545
Revert immediately if tests failin 31 of 545, across 28 files
Perform refactoring in small stepshere, and in 30 of 545, across 29 files
Write characterization tests for untested codein 21 of 545, across 19 files
Remove dead code and unused importsin 20 of 545
Identify code smellsin 20 of 545
Perform one refactoring at a timein 19 of 545
Commit after each successful refactoringin 17 of 545, across 15 files
Verify all tests pass after refactoringin 17 of 545
Keep refactoring separate from behavior changesin 16 of 545, across 14 files
Run the full test suitein 16 of 545

Said here and by no other author read

List structural changes before refactoring
Validate tests after each meaningful change
Keep each refactoring step focused

Grouped from the skills themselves: near-identical wordings counted once, and counted by distinct author, so one author publishing three of these counts once. Length counted with cl100k_base; the agent that loads this file may tokenize it differently.