# smell

Scans a codebase and writes a markdown report on architectural violations, anti-patterns and algorithmic complexity hotspots.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 768 installs · ★ 294
- Author: smallnest
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/smallnest/goal-workflow/tree/HEAD/skills/smell/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-09-13
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/smell

## What it does

The skill inspects a project for bad smells at two levels: architecture and algorithms. It carries a catalog of patterns and anti-patterns drawn from industry practice, including the classic code smells list by Martin Fowler and Kent Beck as organized on refactoring.guru: Bloaters, Object-Orientation Abusers, Change Preventers, Dispensables, Couplers.

Work runs in five steps. First it asks what to analyze: the whole project, a specific module, only recent `git diff` changes, or architecture-level issues alone. Then it gathers evidence with `find`, `grep` and the Explore subagent, running several parallel scans: directory structure, dependency graph, God Objects, anti-pattern signatures, tests, naming, nested loops and N+1 queries. Candidates get checked against context, callers, change history and workload before they count as confirmed. The report lands in `tasks/smell-report-[timestamp].md`, and you get a summary of confirmed findings kept separate from the candidates.

A threshold on its own means little here. A 500-line file or a Big-O match is a reason to look closer, not a verdict, and the skill says outright that it does not assign severity from a number alone. Small projects default to a full scan; large ones start with recent changes.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add smallnest/goal-workflow --skill smell -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/smell/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/smell/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add smallnest/goal-workflow --skill smell -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/smell/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add smallnest/goal-workflow --skill smell -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/smell/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install smallnest/goal-workflow smell
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/smell/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add smallnest/goal-workflow --skill smell -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/smallnest/goal-workflow --path skills/smell
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/smell/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add smallnest/goal-workflow --skill smell -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/smallnest/goal-workflow/tree/HEAD/skills/smell/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- spot God Objects that carry unrelated concerns
- catch circular dependencies between modules
- find N+1 queries and nested loops on hot paths
- check whether implementation details leak through abstractions
- separate real layer-boundary violations from harmless matches

## Example prompts
- analyze the project architecture for bad smells
- check the `internal/service` module for anti-patterns
- find complexity hotspots in recent changes

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: 270a8ff2e7ac1615.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE 270a8ff2e7ac1615
````text
---
name: smell
description: "Detect software architecture bad smells, algorithmic complexity hotspots, and anti-patterns in a codebase. Produces a detailed markdown report identifying violations of architectural principles, design patterns, code quality, and performance complexity. Triggers on: smell, code smell, architecture smell, find anti-patterns, detect bad smells, complexity analysis, 代码坏味道, 架构坏味道, 反模式, 找出坏味道, 复杂度分析."
user-invocable: true
---

# Smell — Architecture Bad Smell Detector

Analyze a codebase to find violations of software architecture principles, anti-patterns, code "bad smells," and algorithmic complexity hotspots. Produce a comprehensive, actionable markdown report.

**Knowledge base:** This skill encodes architectural patterns, anti-patterns, code smells, and algorithmic complexity heuristics drawn from industry research and practice, including the classic code smells catalog by Martin Fowler / Kent Beck (as organized on refactoring.guru: Bloaters, Object-Orientation Abusers, Change Preventers, Dispensables, Couplers).

---

## The Job

1. Understand the scope — ask what part of the project to analyze (full project, specific module, or recent changes)
2. Scan the codebase using `find`, `grep`, and `Agent` (Explore subagent) to gather candidate signals and evidence
3. Validate candidates against context, callers, history, workload, and measurements before confirming findings
4. Generate a detailed markdown report saved to `tasks/smell-report-[timestamp].md`
5. Present a summary of confirmed findings and separate candidates to the user

---

## Step 1: Scope Clarification

Ask the user:

```
What scope should I analyze?
  A. Entire project (thorough, may take time)
  B. Specific module/directory: [please specify]
  C. Only recently changed files (git diff)
  D. Only architectural-level issues (skip low-level code smells)
```

If the user doesn't specify, default to option A for small projects (< 100 files) or C for large projects.

---

## Step 2: Evidence Gathering

**Use the Explore subagent** (`Agent` with `subagent_type: "Explore"`) to scan the codebase for architectural patterns and anti-patterns. Run multiple parallel explorations:

### Exploration Commands

Run these in parallel to gather evidence efficiently:

1. **Project Structure Scan:** Map the directory tree, identify the architectural style (layered, modular monolith, microservices, etc.)
2. **Dependency Analysis:** Find import/include patterns, check for circular dependencies, identify coupling hotspots
````
END THIRD-PARTY FILE 270a8ff2e7ac1615

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