refactor-with-confidence

Safe refactoring uses tests as a protective layer before making changes. This Skill captures your code's pre-refactor state with checkpoints, ensures tests pass first, applies systematic changes using safe rename and reference-update tools, then verifies no regressions occurred.

Yes. The Skill uses fast reference analysis and symbol-rename tools to identify all occurrences of a name across your workspace and propagate changes consistently, eliminating manual search-and-replace errors.

Structuring refactors with test-first verification ensures coverage before you begin. This Skill orchestrates pre-refactor checkpoints to capture baseline state, validates existing tests, applies phased structural changes, and re-runs tests to confirm safety.

Checkpoints create snapshots of your code at key stages—before refactoring starts and after each major phase completes. You can compare these states to verify changes and roll back safely if needed.

This Skill coordinates multiple specialized tools—Julie for refactoring operations, Sherpa for guidance, and Goldfish for state checkpoints—into a single systematic workflow, so you don't switch contexts between tasks.

Because tests run before and after each change phase, failures surface immediately. Checkpoints let you compare the working pre-refactor state with the broken state, pinpoint what broke, and adjust your changes accordingly.