Detect Code Smells

Overview

Code smells are surface indicators of deeper structural problems. They don't cause bugs directly but signal design weaknesses that slow development and increase bug risk. Detecting smells is the first step before applying targeted refactoring.

When to Use

• Code review reveals hard-to-read or hard-to-change sections
• A class or method has grown significantly over time
• Adding a feature requires touching many unrelated files
• Copy-pasted logic across the codebase
• Tests are brittle or hard to write for a module

Quick Reference