tech-debt-tracker
Automated tech debt scanning, classification, and cost-of-delay prioritization. TRIGGER when: user asks to find tech debt, audit code quality, prioritize refactoring, track debt trends, or assess code health; user runs /tech-debt or /debt-scan. DO NOT TRIGGER when: writing new features, doing code review (use code-review skill), debugging specific bugs.
Tech Debt Tracker Skill
Systematic tech debt management: scan for debt signals, classify by type, prioritize using cost-of-delay, and track trends over time.
Workflow
- Scan -- Identify debt signals across the codebase. See debt-signals.md.
- Classify -- Categorize each finding (code debt, design debt, test debt, dependency debt, documentation debt).
- Prioritize -- Rank findings using cost-of-delay frameworks. See prioritization.md.
- Report -- Generate a debt inventory with actionable recommendations.
- Track -- Compare against previous scans to measure debt trajectory (increasing, stable, decreasing).
Debt Classification
| Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Code | Long functions, deep nesting, duplicated logic |
| Design | Tight coupling, missing abstractions, god objects |
| Test | Missing coverage, flaky tests, no edge cases |
| Dependency | Outdated packages, deprecated APIs, pinned EOL |
| Documentation | Stale comments, missing API docs, wrong examples |
Output Format
[DEBT] type=Code severity=HIGH file:line
Signal: Function exceeds 80 lines with cyclomatic complexity 14
Cost-of-delay: Blocks feature X, increases bug rate in module Y
Recommendation: Extract into 3 focused functions by responsibility
Priority: STRATEGIC (high value, high effort)
End with a summary: total debt items by type, priority distribution, top 5 recommendations, and trend direction if historical data exists.
What You Get
- A debt inventory listing every finding with type, severity, file location, and cost-of-delay assessment
- Priority rankings using a strategic/tactical matrix so you know which debt to pay down first
- A summary with totals by type, priority distribution, top 5 recommendations, and trend direction versus prior scans
Sub-files
| File | Content |
|---|---|
| debt-signals.md | What to scan for across languages |
| prioritization.md | Cost-of-delay frameworks, priority matrix |
See also
refactoring-strategy-- once you know what debt to pay, this skill says how to pay it safely