--- title: How to Refactor Code with Claude Code | daily.dev description: A practical guide on using Claude Code to refactor codebases, covering when to refactor (signs include slower agent performance and more bugs), and a workflow... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-refactor-code-with-claude-code-qxpmmtybz twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: How to Refactor Code with Claude Code | daily.dev og:description: A practical guide on using Claude Code to refactor codebases, covering when to refactor (signs include slower agent performance and more bugs), and a workflow... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-refactor-code-with-claude-code-qxpmmtybz og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/qxpmmtYbZ.png og:image:alt: How to Refactor Code with Claude Code og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # How to Refactor Code with Claude Code **[Towards Data Science](https://daily.dev/sources/tds)** · 8 min read · 1 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A practical guide on using Claude Code to refactor codebases, covering when to refactor (signs include slower agent performance and more bugs), and a workflow for doing it effectively. Key tips include using the highest reasoning mode (Ultracode), working in a git worktree, providing detailed context including the 'why', having the agent create a plan first, and requiring tests to run before and after to verify no regressions. The author argues that continuous refactoring is essential when working with AI coding agents, as messy code degrades agent effectiveness over time. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [How to Write Robust Code with Claude Code](https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-write-robust-code-with-claude-code-3p8hw1qzc) · Towards Data Science · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [How to Create Production-Ready Code with Claude Code](https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-create-production-ready-code-with-claude-code-4rhh4hukx) · Towards Data Science · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#testing](https://daily.dev/tags/testing), [#ai-agents](https://daily.dev/tags/ai-agents), [#claude-code](https://daily.dev/tags/claude-code) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-refactor-code-with-claude-code-qxpmmtybz) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"How to Refactor Code with Claude Code","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-refactor-code-with-claude-code-qxpmmtybz","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-refactor-code-with-claude-code-qxpmmtybz"},"datePublished":"2026-06-10T18:08:19.987Z","dateModified":"2026-06-10T20:19:56.124Z","description":"A practical guide on using Claude Code to refactor codebases, covering when to refactor (signs include slower agent performance and more bugs), and a workflow...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/b848ced4d72c92d779628f3b7aec9b9a?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/b848ced4d72c92d779628f3b7aec9b9a?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Towards Data Science","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Towards Data Science","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/tds","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/tds"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-refactor-code-with-claude-code-qxpmmtybz","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":1},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"testing,ai-agents,claude-code","timeRequired":"PT8M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Towards Data Science","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/tds"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"How to Refactor Code with Claude Code"}]} ```