Assess technical debt and prioritize refactoring work
Brooks-Lint identifies, classifies, and prioritizes technical debt using frameworks from twelve classic engineering books to help teams build refactoring
Why it matters
Teams hire this skill to systematically identify, classify, and prioritize technical debt across their codebase, producing a refactoring roadmap grounded in twelve classic engineering books that helps them decide what to clean up first.
Outcomes
What it gets done
Scan code for six types of decay risks including complexity, coupling, and maintainability issues
Calculate priority scores using Pain × Spread formula to rank findings by impact
Classify debt by intent and group findings by decay risk category
Generate structured assessment reports with health scores and actionable recommendations
Install
Add it to your toolbox
Run in your project directory:
curl -fsSL https://spark.entire.vc/get/ag-brooks-debt | bash Overview
Brooks-Lint - Tech Debt Assessment
A tech debt assessment skill that identifies, classifies, and prioritizes maintainability problems using frameworks from twelve classic engineering books. Use when you need tech debt assessment, refactoring priorities, or want to determine what to clean up first.
What it does
Brooks-Lint is a tech debt assessment skill that identifies, classifies, and prioritizes maintainability problems. It draws on twelve classic engineering books to help teams build refactoring roadmaps.
When to use - and when NOT to
Use Brooks-Lint when you need tech debt assessment, refactoring priorities, want to know what to clean up first, or have questions about code patterns. It triggers when users ask about tech debt, refactoring priorities, or what to clean up first.
Do NOT use this skill for tasks that don't clearly match its upstream source and local project context.
Inputs and outputs
If you have not described the codebase or pointed to specific areas, the skill applies Auto Scope Detection to determine the assessment scope.
The skill follows a process that includes scanning for decay risks, applying a priority formula, classifying debt intent, and grouping findings by decay risk. Output uses the Report Template from common.md, plus the Debt Summary Table, with mode line "Tech Debt Assessment".
Who it's for
Brooks-Lint is designed for development teams who need to assess technical debt and create refactoring roadmaps. It serves engineering leads, architects, and developers who want to apply proven frameworks from software engineering literature to their maintenance work.
Limitations
Verify all commands, generated code, dependencies, credentials, and external service behavior before applying changes. Do not treat examples as a substitute for environment-specific tests, security review, or user approval for destructive or costly actions. Use this skill only when the task clearly matches its upstream source and local project context.
Source README
Brooks-Lint - Tech Debt Assessment
When to Use
Use this skill when you need tech debt assessment that identifies, classifies, and prioritizes maintainability problems - helping teams build a refactoring roadmap - drawing on twelve classic engineering books. Triggers when: user asks about tech debt, refactoring priorities, what to clean up first, or asks "why...
Setup
- Read
../_shared/common.mdfor the Iron Law, Project Config, Report Template, and Health Score rules - Read
../_shared/source-coverage.mdfor book-level coverage, exceptions, and tradeoffs - Read
../_shared/decay-risks.mdfor symptom definitions and source attributions - Read
debt-guide.mdin this directory for the debt classification framework
Process
If the user has not described the codebase or pointed to specific areas: apply Auto
Scope Detection from ../_shared/common.md to determine the assessment scope before proceeding.
- Scan for all six decay risks (Step 1 of the guide); list every finding before scoring
- Apply the Pain × Spread priority formula and classify debt intent (Steps 2-3 of the guide)
- Group findings by decay risk (Step 4 of the guide)
- Output using the Report Template from common.md, plus the Debt Summary Table
Mode line in report: Tech Debt Assessment
Limitations
- Use this skill only when the task clearly matches its upstream source and local project context.
- Verify commands, generated code, dependencies, credentials, and external service behavior before applying changes.
- Do not treat examples as a substitute for environment-specific tests, security review, or user approval for destructive or costly actions.
FAQ
Common questions
Discussion
Questions & comments · 0
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