Naming Things in Code

A name is read far more often than its definition. Its job is to tell the reader what something is and means at the point of use, without a jump to the declaration. Most good naming is achievable by following a few positive rules and refusing a known catalog of anti-patterns — and when a good name still won't come, that difficulty is design feedback: the structure, not the vocabulary, is usually the real problem.

Use this skill when

• Naming new variables, functions, classes, types, or modules.
• Renaming during a refactor or cleanup.
• Reviewing a diff where a name reads unclear, abbreviated, generic, or misleading.
• The user mentions naming, identifiers, readability, or asks what to call something.

Do not use this skill when