name: refactoring/smells description: Code Smells refactoring skill

Code Smells

Name: refactoringsmells
Rating: 60
Author: mgreenly

Checklist of code smells to identify during refactoring. Both generic C issues and ikigai-specific violations.

Smell	Signal	Action
Long function	>50 lines	Extract functions by responsibility
Deep nesting	>3 levels	Extract inner logic, use early returns
Long parameter list	>4 params	Introduce parameter object (struct)
Magic numbers	Literal values in logic	Define named constants
Duplicate code	Copy-pasted blocks	Extract shared function
Comments explaining what	`// increment counter`	Rename to be self-documenting
Dead code	Unreachable branches	Delete it
Complex conditionals	`if (a && b \|\| c && !d)`	Extract to named boolean or function

Smell	Signal	Action
God struct	Struct with 10+ fields	Split by responsibility
Feature envy	Function uses another module's data extensively	Move function to that module
Primitive obsession	Passing raw `char*`, `int` everywhere	Introduce domain types
Shotgun surgery	One change requires editing many files	Consolidate related code
Divergent change	One file changes for unrelated reasons	Split by responsibility

Violation	Example	Fix
Missing `ik_` prefix	`config_load()`	`ik_cfg_load()`
Wrong abbreviation	`ik_configuration_load()`	`ik_cfg_load()` (use approved abbrev)
Inconsistent module prefix	`ik_config_load()` vs `ik_cfg_parse()`	Pick one, use consistently
Missing `_ptr` suffix	`bool *visible;` (raw pointer)	`bool *visible_ptr;`
Missing `g_` prefix	`volatile sig_atomic_t shutdown;`	`g_shutdown`

Violation	Example	Fix
Unchecked res_t	`ik_cfg_load(...); use(cfg);`	`TRY(ik_cfg_load(...))` or check `is_err()`
Wrong mechanism	`if (!ptr) return ERR(...)` for OOM	OOM → `PANIC()`, not res_t
assert for runtime	`assert(file_exists(path))`	External input → res_t, not assert
Missing LCOV marker	`if (!ptr) PANIC("OOM");`	Add `// LCOV_EXCL_BR_LINE`
Error on wrong context	`ERR(tmp, ...)` before `talloc_free(tmp)`	Use parent context for errors

Violation	Example	Fix
malloc instead of talloc	`char *buf = malloc(size);`	`talloc_array(ctx, char, size)`
Missing parent	`talloc_new(NULL)` in non-main	Pass parent context from caller
Orphaned allocation	`talloc(ctx, ...)` never freed/stolen	Attach to proper parent or free
Hidden allocation	Function mallocs internally	Accept `TALLOC_CTX*` parameter

Violation	Example	Fix
Global state	`static config_t *g_config;`	Pass config as parameter
Hidden I/O	`load_from_disk()` inside init	Load externally, pass data in
Service locator	`get_service("db")`	Pass `db_t*` parameter
Constructor does work	`init()` opens files, connects	Accept opened resources as params

Violation	Example	Fix
Block comment	`/* comment */`	`// comment`
Primitive type	`int count;`	`int32_t count;`
Wrong include order	System before project headers	Project headers first
static helper function	`static void helper() {...}`	Inline at call site