Code Smell Detector Skill

Automated detection of code smells, anti-patterns, and design issues that indicate deeper problems in the codebase. This skill identifies refactoring opportunities and prioritizes them by impact.

Purpose

Enable systematic detection of code smells for:

•Refactoring prioritization
•Technical debt identification
•Code quality improvement
•Migration preparation
•Design pattern violations

Capabilities

1. Long Method Detection

•Identify methods exceeding line thresholds
•Analyze parameter counts
•Detect high cyclomatic complexity
•Suggest extraction candidates

2. Large Class Identification

•Detect classes with too many responsibilities
•Identify god classes
•Analyze class cohesion
•Suggest decomposition strategies

3. Feature Envy Analysis

•Find methods using other classes' data excessively
•Identify misplaced functionality
•Suggest method relocation
•Map cross-class dependencies

4. Primitive Obsession Detection

•Identify overuse of primitives
•Find missing value objects
•Detect stringly-typed code
•Suggest domain type extraction

5. Parallel Inheritance Hierarchy

•Detect mirrored class hierarchies
•Identify inheritance coupling
•Suggest hierarchy consolidation
•Map inheritance relationships

6. Shotgun Surgery Detection

•Identify changes requiring multiple file edits
•Detect scattered functionality
•Map change propagation patterns
•Suggest consolidation points

7. God Class Identification

•Detect classes doing too much
•Analyze responsibility distribution
•Calculate lack of cohesion metrics
•Suggest single responsibility refactoring

Tool Integrations

Tool	Purpose	Integration Method
SonarQube	Code smell detection	MCP Server / API
PMD	Java smell detection	CLI
IntelliJ IDEA	IDE-based analysis	CLI / Export
Designite	Design smell detection	CLI
ast-grep	Pattern-based detection	MCP Server / CLI
ESLint	JavaScript smell rules	CLI

Output Schema

json

{
  "analysisId": "string",
  "timestamp": "ISO8601",
  "target": {
    "path": "string",
    "filesAnalyzed": "number"
  },
  "smells": [
    {
      "type": "string",
      "severity": "high|medium|low",
      "file": "string",
      "line": "number",
      "element": "string",
      "description": "string",
      "metrics": {},
      "refactoringSuggestion": "string",
      "estimatedEffort": "string"
    }
  ],
  "summary": {
    "totalSmells": "number",
    "byType": {},
    "bySeverity": {},
    "hotspots": []
  }
}

Integration with Migration Processes

•code-refactoring: Primary smell identification
•technical-debt-remediation: Debt quantification
•legacy-codebase-assessment: Quality assessment

Related Skills

•static-code-analyzer: Broader quality analysis
•refactoring-assistant: Smell remediation
•dead-code-eliminator: Unused code removal

Related Agents

•code-transformation-executor: Executes refactorings
•technical-debt-auditor: Prioritizes debt remediation