trace-mcp — Refactoring Workflow

Use this skill whenever you are about to rename, restructure, extract, or otherwise refactor code in a project indexed by trace-mcp. The goal is to never break cross-file references and never guess at what is affected.

When to Use

• Renaming a class, function, method, variable, or file
• Extracting a function or method
• Restructuring a module or splitting a file
• Changing a function signature
• Any change that touches more than one call site

Refactoring Workflow

1. Assess before touching anything

assess_change_risk({ file_path: "src/foo.ts" })
# or
assess_change_risk({ symbol_id: "<id>" })

This returns the risk level of the target change based on churn, complexity, fan-in/fan-out, and test coverage. Use it to decide whether to proceed, add tests first, or split the change.

2. Find what actually needs refactoring

get_refactor_candidates()

Do not guess. This surfaces high-complexity, high-churn, and anti-pattern-laden symbols that are the real refactor targets.

3. Know what will break

get_change_impact({ symbol_id: "<id>" })

Returns the reverse-dependency graph: every file, symbol, and test that depends on the target. Review this list before editing.

4. Quantify complexity

get_complexity_report({ file_path: "src/foo.ts" })

Gives you a baseline so you can verify the refactor actually reduced complexity.

Renaming a Symbol — MANDATORY Flow

Never rename with Edit and replace_all. It silently misses import sites, re-exports, type references, and cross-file usages.

# 1. Collision detection first
check_rename({ symbol_id: "<id>", target_name: "newName" })

# 2. Apply rename across ALL files (definition + every reference)
apply_rename({ symbol_id: "<id>", new_name: "newName" })

apply_rename updates the definition, imports, re-exports, call sites, JSX usages, and tests in one atomic operation.

Extracting a Function

extract_function({
  file_path: "src/foo.ts",
  start_line: 42,
  end_line: 67,
  new_name: "computeTotals"
})

Let trace-mcp handle the variable capture analysis — manual extraction routinely misses closure variables.

After the Refactor

1. register_edit on each edited file to reindex
2. get_complexity_report again to confirm the reduction
3. get_tests_for the changed symbols — run them
4. check_quality_gates with scope: "changed" to verify no regressions