tdd-refactor-guard

To prevent regressions during AI-assisted refactoring, enforce a safety gate that verifies existing test coverage before modifying code. This ensures baseline behavior is documented and protected against unknown changes.

Characterization tests capture the current behavior of existing code before refactoring. You need them when test coverage is insufficient, ensuring safe modifications by establishing a behavioral baseline to detect regressions.

Assess test coverage readiness by checking existing tests and evaluating their quality. If coverage is insufficient for the refactoring scope, generate characterization tests to establish behavioral safeguards before modifying code.

Yes, a pre-refactor safety checklist is specifically applicable when planning code restructures or migrations that affect public API or behavior. It enforces guardrails and guides safe changes to prevent regressions.

Automate test generation by identifying the refactor scope, checking existing coverage, and generating characterization tests where coverage is insufficient. This provides a safety net to guide safe code migrations.

Skipping test coverage checks before AI-assisted refactoring risks introducing regressions and unknown behavior changes. Without characterization tests, there is no baseline to verify that the refactored code preserves original functionality.