Refactoring with AI

Refactoring is traditionally tedious and risky — you're changing code without adding features. AI transforms this by handling the repetitive execution while you focus on deciding what to improve.

What AI Can Refactor

• Pattern updates — Class to functional components, callbacks to async/await
• Naming improvements — Consistent, clearer variable and function names
• Structure changes — Extracting functions, reorganizing files
• Type additions — Converting JavaScript to TypeScript
• Code style — Applying consistent formatting patterns

The AI Refactoring Workflow

1. Identify the target — What pattern needs changing?
2. Scope the change — How widespread is it?
3. Describe the transformation — Tell AI what old pattern becomes new pattern
4. Review and apply — Check AI's work, accept or adjust

Effective Refactoring Prompts

Be specific about the transformation:

• ❌ "Clean up this code"
• ✅ "Extract the validation logic into a separate function called validateUserInput that returns a ValidationResult type"

Provide examples:

• "Here's how I want the code to look after refactoring: [example]"

Specify scope:

• "Apply this change to all components in /src/components"

When AI Refactoring Shines

• Mechanical, repetitive changes
• Pattern migrations
• Consistency improvements
• Large-scale renames

Human Judgment Still Required

AI doesn't know:

• Your priorities
• Why code was written a certain way
• Business context
• Performance implications

Review AI refactoring carefully — it's consistent but not omniscient.