Refactor Messy AI Code

Clean up AI-generated spaghetti safely: dedupe, extract, and organize without breaking working features.

6 steps18 verify checks60-120 minutesWorks with: emergent · chatgpt · claude · cursor

Start Guided Walkthrough

#refactor #cleanup #code-quality #components #architecture

The Route

0/6 verified

Capture the behavior baseline

You cannot verify 'nothing broke' without a before-list.

3 checks 02

Map the mess

Diagnose duplication, dead code, and oversized files before cutting.

3 checks 03

Remove dead code

Delete what is provably unused - the safest first win.

3 checks 04

Deduplicate shared logic

One source of truth for each behavior.

3 checks 05

Split oversized files and unify patterns

Restructure for maintainability with mechanical, verifiable moves.

3 checks 06

Final verification and guardrails

Prove the refactor kept its promise and leave the code defensible.

3 checks

Every step ends at a Verify Gate. Do not continue until every check passes.

Context Pack

Paste this first. It briefs the AI on requirements, constraints, and the Definition of Done before your first build prompt.

Context Pack

PROJECT CONTEXT:
My AI-built codebase works (mostly) but is a mess: duplicated logic, thousand-line files, dead code, inconsistent patterns.

GOAL:
Refactor to organized, deduplicated, consistently-patterned code while keeping every feature working.

REQUIREMENTS:
- A behavior baseline captured before touching anything
- Duplication and dead code eliminated
- Oversized files split into modules/components
- Consistent patterns for API calls and state
- Baseline re-verified after each refactor stage

CONSTRAINTS:
- Never refactor and change behavior in the same step
- One kind of change per pass - verify between passes
- If it was not broken, it must not be broken after

DEFINITION OF DONE:
- All baseline behaviors still pass
- No duplicated business logic remains
- No file exceeds a sane size with mixed concerns
- API/state patterns are consistent codebase-wide

COMMON FAILURES TO AVOID:
- Refactors that quietly delete edge-case handling
- Renames that break imports at runtime
- Consolidations that merge two subtly different behaviors into one wrong one
- Giant single-commit rewrites nobody can verify

Paste this into your AI builder first. It teaches the AI what you want before you give it the build prompt.