tech-debt

---

name: tech-debt description: "Track, categorize, and prioritize technical debt across the codebase. Scans for debt indicators, maintains a debt register, and recommends repayment scheduling." argument-hint: "[scan|add|prioritize|report]" user-invocable: true allowed-tools: Read, Glob, Grep, Write

When this skill is invoked:

1. Parse the subcommand from the argument:

   • scan — Scan the codebase for tech debt indicators
   • add — Add a new tech debt entry manually
   • prioritize — Re-prioritize the existing debt register
   • report — Generate a summary report of current debt status

2. For scan:

   • Search the codebase for debt indicators:
     • TODO comments (count and categorize)
     • FIXME comments (these are bugs disguised as debt)
     • HACK comments (workarounds that need proper solutions)
     • @deprecated markers
     • Duplicated code blocks (similar patterns in multiple files)
     • Files over 500 lines (potential god objects)
     • Functions over 50 lines (potential complexity)
   • Categorize each finding:
     • Architecture Debt: Wrong abstractions, missing patterns, coupling issues
     • Code Quality Debt: Duplication, complexity, naming, missing types
     • Test Debt: Missing tests, flaky tests, untested edge cases
     • Documentation Debt: Missing docs, outdated docs, undocumented APIs
     • Dependency Debt: Outdated packages, deprecated APIs, version conflicts
     • Performance Debt: Known slow paths, unoptimized queries, memory issues
   • Update the debt register at docs/tech-debt-register.md

3. For add:

   • Prompt for: description, category, affected files, estimated fix effort, impact if left unfixed
   • Append to the debt register

4. For prioritize:

   • Read the debt register
   • Score each item by: (impact_if_unfixed * frequency_of_encounter) / fix_effort
   • Re-sort the register by priority score
   • Recommend which items to include in the next sprint

5. For report:

   • Read the debt register
   • Generate summary statistics:
     • Total items by category
     • Total estimated fix effort
     • Items added vs resolved since last report
     • Trending direction (growing / stable / shrinking)
   • Flag any items that have been in the register for more than 3 sprints
   • Output the report

Debt Register Format

## Technical Debt Register
Last updated: [Date]
Total items: [N] | Estimated total effort: [T-shirt sizes summed]

| ID | Category | Description | Files | Effort | Impact | Priority | Added | Sprint |
|----|----------|-------------|-------|--------|--------|----------|-------|--------|
| TD-001 | [Cat] | [Description] | [files] | [S/M/L/XL] | [Low/Med/High/Critical] | [Score] | [Date] | [Sprint to fix or "Backlog"] |

Rules

• Tech debt is not inherently bad — it is a tool. The register tracks conscious decisions.
• Every debt entry must explain WHY it was accepted (deadline, prototype, missing info)
• "Scan" should run at least once per sprint to catch new debt
• Items older than 3 sprints without action should either be fixed or consciously accepted with a documented reason