tech-debt-tracker
Automated technical debt identification, tracking, and prioritization system
Security Assessment
Detected risks:
About tech-debt-tracker
The **tech-debt-tracker** skill is an automated system designed to help development teams identify, measure, and manage technical debt within their codebases. By systematically scanning for indicators such as code complexity, duplication, outdated patterns, and missing tests, it provides a clear picture of areas that may hinder maintainability or slow down future development. This skill addresses the common challenge that only a small fraction of developers actively track technical debt, which can lead to hidden inefficiencies, increased bugs, and slower delivery cycles. By offering a structured approach, it enables teams to focus on high-impact refactoring and reduce accumulated technical debt efficiently.
The skill's capabilities include comprehensive scanning of codebases with optional language selection and file pattern filtering, calculation of key metrics like cognitive complexity, code churn, and duplication, and classification of debt by severity and type. It also generates actionable recommendations for remediation, estimates effort for refactoring, and can produce reports for stakeholder review. Integration with tools such as codebase-navigator, code-formatter, and semantic-search enhances its ability to provide contextual insights. The system prioritizes technical debt based on business impact and effort, helping teams make informed decisions about which issues to address first.
Targeted at software engineers, technical leads, and project managers, this skill is ideal for teams looking to maintain code quality and accelerate delivery. It is particularly useful for larger codebases where manual tracking is impractical and for organizations aiming to embed debt management into their development workflow. Common use cases include generating backlog items for debt paydown, tracking debt trends over sprints, preventing new debt accumulation, and providing measurable metrics for planning and reporting purposes. It is best employed in conjunction with other code quality and refactoring tools for a comprehensive development strategy.
FAQ
How do I initiate a scan with tech-debt-tracker?
You initiate a scan by providing the project directory and optionally specifying languages, include/exclude patterns, and metrics to analyze. The skill will automatically detect languages if not specified.
Which programming languages are supported?
The skill supports major languages such as JavaScript, Python, and Java. If no language is specified, it attempts to auto-detect the languages used in the project.
Can tech-debt-tracker automatically fix code issues?
No, this skill only identifies, measures, and prioritizes technical debt. For automated refactoring, other skills like refactor-automator should be used.
What are the system requirements for using this skill?
The skill requires Python 3 and Git. It also integrates with tools like codebase-navigator, code-formatter, and semantic-search for enhanced functionality.
Is tech-debt-tracker suitable for style or security checks?
No, it focuses on technical debt. For style and formatting, use code-formatter, and for security vulnerabilities, use security-scanner.
Install tech-debt-tracker
Quick Setup:
- Copy the skill folder to
.claude/skills/ - Claude will automatically detect and use the skill
Repository
benreceveur/claude-workflow-engine