Refactoring skills for Claude Code and Codex
Skills for refactoring and legacy code: extracting methods, reducing complexity, removing duplicate functions, simplifying code, paying down technical debt and modernizing old Go, Java and .NET code. They help an agent change structure without changing behavior.
Highest-scoring refactoring skills in the October 22, 2026 snapshot: codebase-architecture from mblode/agent-skills (84/100), finding-duplicate-functions from obra/superpowers-lab (76/100) and architecture-optimization from wondelai/skills (76/100). Scores come from the Suede Skill Check.
- 23 listed skills
- 12 repositories
- 5 with full pages
9 from official publishers. 2 bundle scripts. 0 connect to an outside service. Listed in Code Review and Code Quality (20), Developer Tools and Frameworks (3).
All 23 refactoring skills
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| Skill | Repository | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| architecture-optimization 76/100 · C | wondelai/skills | Guides a slow, tangled codebase toward being measurably fast, cleanly bounded, and readable, orchestrating eight skills phase by phase with questions at each decision. |
| code-auditor 75/100 · C | mhattingpete/claude-skills-marketplace | Audits a codebase across architecture, code quality, security, performance, testing, and maintainability to identify technical debt and give a health check. |
| code-refactor 75/100 · C | mhattingpete/claude-skills-marketplace | Performs bulk refactoring such as renaming variables and functions across files, replacing deprecated code patterns, and updating API calls. |
| codebase-architecture 84/100 · B | mblode/agent-skills | Designs module interfaces, deepens shallow modules, and installs enforceable repository guardrails and agent wayfinding to harden a repo. |
| finding-duplicate-functions 76/100 · C | obra/superpowers-lab | Audits a codebase for semantic duplication, finding functions that do the same thing under different names or implementations, especially in LLM-generated code. |
| code-improver 89/100 · B | trailofbits/skills | Runs an autonomous review-and-fix improvement loop over any code target — a skill, plugin, module, or directory — using a reviewer the user names… |
| code-simplifier 81/100 · B | getsentry/skills | Simplifies and refines code for clarity, consistency, and maintainability while preserving all functionality. Use when asked to "simplify code"… |
| go-modernize 95/100 · A | eduardo-sl/go-agent-skills | Modernize Go code to use current language features and standard library additions, Go 1.21 through 1.27: generics and generic methods, log/slog… |
| go-refactoring 95/100 · A | eduardo-sl/go-agent-skills | Safe refactoring workflow for Go: behavior-preserving steps, compiler-checked renames, extracting packages, breaking circular dependencies, and… |
| improve-code-quality 76/100 · C | wondelai/skills | Guided journey from a working-but-untested vibe-coded prototype to a production-ready product with tests, clean structure, a business-rules… |
| improve-codebase-architecture 68/100 · D | mattpocock/skills | Scan a codebase for deepening opportunities, present them as a visual HTML report, then grill through whichever one you pick. |
| java-refactoring-extract-method 62/100 · D | github/awesome-copilot | Refactoring using Extract Methods in Java Language |
| java-refactoring-remove-parameter 62/100 · D | github/awesome-copilot | Refactoring using Remove Parameter in Java Language |
| kaizen 70/100 · C | NeoLabHQ/context-engineering-kit | Use when Code implementation and refactoring, architecturing or designing systems, process and workflow improvements, error handling and validation… |
| legacy-modernizer 84/100 · B | jeffallan/claude-skills | Designs incremental migration strategies, identifies service boundaries, produces dependency maps and migration roadmaps, and generates API facade… |
| migrate-to-rust 87/100 · B | google/skills | Clones, analyzes, plans, and migrates legacy codebases (C++, Fortran, Java, Python, C, Shell) from a GitHub URL or local directory to a modern… |
| refactor 69/100 · D | github/awesome-copilot | Surgical code refactoring to improve maintainability without changing behavior. Covers extracting functions, renaming variables, breaking down god… |
| refactor-method-complexity-reduce 69/100 · D | github/awesome-copilot | Refactor given method `${input:methodName}` to reduce its cognitive complexity to `${input:complexityThreshold}` or below, by extracting helper… |
| refactor-plan 74/100 · C | github/awesome-copilot | Create a concrete plan before starting a multi-file refactor. Use when the user asks to plan, sequence, scope, or safely execute a refactor across… |
| refactoring-patterns 81/100 · B | wondelai/skills | Apply named refactoring transformations to improve code structure without changing behavior. Use when the user mentions "refactor this", "code… |
| remove-technical-debt 76/100 · C | wondelai/skills | Guided journey from a large aged codebase everyone fears to touch to one that is safe to change, legible, bounded, and resilient - paid down in… |
| review-and-refactor 58/100 · D | github/awesome-copilot | Review and refactor code in your project according to defined instructions |
| working-with-legacy-code 81/100 · B | wondelai/skills | Safely change and test untested codebases using Feathers' "Working Effectively with Legacy Code". Use when the user mentions "legacy code", "no… |
How to choose refactoring skills
Run refactoring skills on a branch with tests in place. The skills that find duplicates or complexity report first; the ones that rewrite should go in small steps you can review.
Book-based skills (refactoring patterns, working with legacy code, clean code) set principles; task skills (extract method, remove parameter) do one change well. Use the first to plan and the second to execute.
For legacy systems, ask for characterization tests before the first change, so the agent can show behavior stayed the same.
Related topics
Code Assistants 21Code Quality and Linting 22Code Review 50Go 34Java and JVM 20Rust 6Security Auditing and Review 108
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