/de-sloppify — 7-Step Cleanup Pipeline

What

Runs an ordered, verified cleanup pipeline over a .NET codebase. Order matters: formatting first (it touches every file — get the churn out of the way before anything else), dead code late (earlier steps reveal it). Random cleanup misses things and creates merge conflicts; the pipeline doesn't.

Three rules make it safe:

1. Verify after each step — dotnet build + dotnet test between steps. A cleanup that breaks something is worse than the mess it was fixing.
2. Commit per step — each step is its own commit, so a bad Step 4 reverts without losing Steps 1-3.
3. Safe removals only — before deleting "dead" code, check for reflection, DI-convention, and serialization usage that Roslyn cannot see.

Per-step commands, safety checklists, and code examples live in references/cleanup-steps.md — read it before executing.

When

• "Clean up", "tidy up", "de-sloppify", "housekeeping", "tech debt"
• After a large feature merge or dependency upgrade (new warnings accumulate)
• Pre-release hardening, or a scheduled quarterly cleanup sprint
• Before performance work (dead code out, classes sealed for devirtualization)
• Never mixed with feature work — cleanup commits stay pure

How

Step 0: Pick the Steps

Steps 1-7 (execute in order, details in references/cleanup-steps.md)

After every step: dotnet build + dotnet test, then commit. If a step breaks the build or tests, fix or revert that step before continuing — never carry a red state into the next step. Delegate structural steps (4, 6, 7) to the refactor-cleaner agent.

Final Report

## De-Sloppify Report

| Step | Changes | Files Affected |
|------|---------|----------------|
| 1. Format | Applied consistent formatting | 23 files |
| 2. Usings | Removed 47 unused usings | 18 files |
| 3. Analyzers | Fixed 12 warnings (8 nullability, 3 unused vars, 1 obsolete) | 9 files |
| 4. Dead Code | Removed 3 unused types, 5 unused methods | 6 files |
| 5. TODOs | Fixed 2, created issues for 3, removed 1 stale | 5 files |
| 6. Sealed | Sealed 14 classes | 14 files |
| 7. CancellationToken | Added propagation to 8 async chains | 11 files |

**Total: 7 commits, 86 files improved**

Example

User: /de-sloppify — full pass before the release

Claude: Running the 7-step pipeline...

Step 1: dotnet format — 23 files reformatted. Build + tests green. Committed.
Step 2: IDE0005 — 47 unused usings removed across 18 files. Green. Committed.
Step 3: 12 warnings triaged: 8 nullability fixed with null checks,
  3 unused vars removed, 1 CS0618 migrated off the obsolete API. Committed.
Step 4: find_dead_code → 9 candidates. Safety check: PaymentProcessor is
  registered via DI convention — kept. Removed 3 types, 5 methods. Committed.
Step 5: 6 TODOs → 2 fixed, 3 became issues (#141-#143), 1 stale removed. Committed.
Step 6: 14 classes sealed (2 skipped: xUnit fixture base, virtual members). Committed.
Step 7: 8 async chains now propagate ct end-to-end. Committed.

7 commits, 86 files improved. Full report above.

Related

• references/cleanup-steps.md — per-step commands, safety checks, examples
• /verify — run the full verification pipeline after cleanup
• /health-check — re-grade the project to quantify the improvement
• /code-review — cleanup handles style; review handles logic and design