principle-refactoring SKILL.md skillA
principle-refactoring from lugassawan/swe-workbench is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.
mdr add lugassawan/swe-workbench/principle-refactoring@git:20260828.71a6399Pins git:20260828.71a6399 in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.
- Audit grade
- A, 17 of 17 checks passed
- Kind
- SKILL.md skill
- Repository
- lugassawan/swe-workbench
- Path
skills/principle-refactoring/SKILL.md- Versions recorded
- 5
- Latest version
- git:20260828.71a6399, committed Aug 28, 2026
- First version recorded
- May 12, 2026
- Size
- 4,913 bytes
- Repository stars
- 3
- License
- MIT
Refactoring discipline — Fowler's catalog of behavior-preserving moves (Extract Function, Inline Variable, Move Function, Replace Conditional with Polymorphism, Introduce Parameter Object, Extract Class), the rule of three, characterization-tests-before-touching-legacy, and small-steps-with-green-between discipline. Distinct from principle-clean-code (naming/length aesthetics) and principle-design-patterns (GoF catalog selection). Auto-load when discussing refactoring strategy, code smells…
Collected from public GitHub. Every version is saved exactly as it was and never changes. Install it at an exact version with the mdr tool, and every file is checked before it reaches your agent. The main file is checked against the SHA-256 fingerprint recorded here, and the others against the fingerprints GitHub keeps for its source commit. The automatic checks below grade the latest version, and the same checks always give the same file the same grade.
What the file says
<!-- preload-canary: SWB-PRELOAD-PRINCIPLE-REFACTORING --> # Refactoring Discipline Structural change without behavior change. For the GoF pattern catalog, see `swe-workbench:principle-design-patterns`. For naming and function-length aesthetics, see `swe-workbench:principle-clean-code`. ## The discipline Four non-negotiable rules: - **Every step preserves behavior.** Tests must pass before and after each step. - **No feature changes during refactoring.** Find a bug? Note it — fix it in a separate commit. - **Small steps.** Each step is independently reviewable and revertable. - **Green between steps.** Run tests after each move. If red, revert immediately. ## Smells → moves | Smell | Triggering move(s) | |---|---| | Long Method | Extract Function, Decompose Conditional, Replace Temp with Query — *Quality stage (`swe-workbench:workflow-development`) gives the objective trigger via cyclomatic / cognitive complexity thresholds* | | Large Class | Extract Class, Extract Interface, Move Function — *Quality stage (`swe-workbench:workflow-development`) gives the objective trigger via file / class length* | | Feature Envy | Move Function, Move Field | …
Read the whole file at its exact version.
How to install
mdr add lugassawan/swe-workbench/principle-refactoring@sha256:4b6950abd8802c88The line at the top of this page pins the label git:20260828.71a6399, which is what most people want. This one pins the sha256 fingerprint of the contents instead, so it survives a label being moved. Either way the exact version is written to mdr.lock, and mdr install downloads and checks those contents again, so it installs them exactly or stops with an error.
[](https://markdownregistry.com/a/art_k4edliwioazxw6tn)
3 badge image fetches in 30 days. What the badge shows.
Versions
The registry has recorded 5 versions of this file, between May 12, 2026 and Aug 28, 2026, about one every 27 days.
| version | committed | commit | size | audit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| git:20260828.71a6399 latest | 2026-08-28 | 71a6399 | 4,913 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260811.925e30f | 2026-08-11 | 925e30f | 5,090 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260725.074b496 | 2026-07-25 | 074b496 | 5,006 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260517.f5c3dc1 | 2026-05-17 | f5c3dc1 | 4,947 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260512.bb8d74a | 2026-05-12 | bb8d74a | 4,728 B | A | view |
Audit of the latest version
- pass: Frontmatter block present
- pass: Frontmatter declares a name
- pass: Frontmatter declares a description
- pass: Size between 200 bytes and 200 KB (4913 bytes)
- pass: No zero-width or bidi control characters
- pass: No instruction hidden inside an HTML comment
- pass: No link to an exfiltration or paste host
- pass: No credential-shaped string
- pass: No instruction to send local credentials anywhere
- pass: No text hidden with inline styles
- pass: No prompt-injection phrasing
- pass: No curl or wget piped into a shell
- pass: No recursive delete of root, home or parent
- pass: No instruction to read or print local credentials
- pass: No base64 blob over 200 characters
- pass: No link to a raw IP address
- pass: No script tag
Source
lugassawan/swe-workbench · 3 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-11-07 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_k4edliwioazxw6tn GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=lugassawan/swe-workbench/principle-refactoring GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/4b6950abd8802c8879df3b1c9b0bdff691f011834366d6a2e1de466fc9efbbce
Your AI assistant does the legwork. You hear about the deals worth your word. Hand yours the standing instructions at modelranch.com and it joins the network that reads files like this one.
Guides: the SKILL.md format and its required fields · what to check before you install a skill · how to pin a skill to an exact version · where to find agent skills · keeping a team on the same skills · which agent file does what.