refactoring_first

Refactoring-First Development Approach

Rule 1: Always Check for Existing Implementations First

Before creating new code, always search for existing implementations that can be refactored:

• ✅ DO: Search the codebase first

  # Search for existing functions
  grep -r "collect_chat_history" --include="*.py"
  grep -r "daily_summary" --include="*.py"
  grep -r "git_hook" --include="*.py"
  

• ❌ DON'T: Assume functionality doesn't exist

  # Don't create new functions without checking
  def new_chat_collector():  # BAD - might already exist
      pass
  

Rule 2: Refactor Over Rewrite

For tasks that mention "implement" or "create", first check if the functionality exists:

✅ Refactoring Patterns:

# ✅ DO: Refactor existing placeholder
def collect_chat_history(since_commit=None, max_messages_back=150):
    """EXISTING function - refactor the TODO implementation"""
    # TODO: Implement actual chat collection  # ← REFACTOR THIS
    try:
        # Wire up SQLite reader into existing placeholder
        workspace_path = get_cursor_workspace_path()
        chat_data = query_cursor_chat_database(workspace_path, max_messages_back)
        return format_chat_history(chat_data)
    except Exception as e:
        logger.error(f"Chat collection failed: {e}")
        return None

# ✅ DO: Extend existing functionality
def collect_chat_history(since_commit=None, max_messages_back=150, filter_by_git=False):
    """MODIFY existing function to add new capability"""
    chat_history = [...existing implementation...]
    
    # ADD new filtering capability
    if filter_by_git:
        return filter_chat_by_git_relevance(chat_history, get_git_diff())
    return chat_history

❌ Anti-Patterns:

# ❌ DON'T: Create parallel implementations
def new_chat_collector():  # BAD - collect_chat_history() already exists
    pass

# ❌ DON'T: Rewrite working code
def generate_journal_entry_v2():  # BAD - v1 works fine, refactor it instead
    pass