Scope Determination Advanced Strategies

Edge Cases and Complex Scenarios

Mixed Path and Semantic Arguments

When arguments contain both valid paths and semantic descriptions:

/refactor src/auth "user validation logic"

Strategy:

1. Identify valid paths first (src/auth exists)
2. Treat remaining arguments as semantic query ("user validation logic")
3. Search within valid path scope if paths are directories
4. Combine path-based and semantic results into single target scope

Glob Pattern Arguments

When arguments look like glob patterns:

/refactor src/**/*.test.ts

Strategy:

1. Use Glob tool to expand the pattern
2. Treat all matching files as target scope
3. If no matches found, inform user and exit

Ambiguous Semantic Queries

When semantic query is too broad or returns excessive results:

/refactor "utility functions"

Strategy:

1. Perform initial Grep search with pattern matching
2. If results exceed 50 files, inform user of count
3. Proceed with all results (no arbitrary limits)
4. Suggest more specific query if user wants to narrow scope

Session Context with Staged Changes

When no arguments provided but git staging area has files:

git diff --cached --name-only

Strategy:

1. Prioritize staged changes over unstaged modifications
2. Use staged files as primary target scope
3. Display "Refactoring staged files" for clarity

Multi-Language Projects

When target scope spans multiple languages:

Strategy:

1. Group files by language/framework
2. Inform user of detected languages
3. Proceed with all files; agent handles language detection per-file

Search Pattern Best Practices

Effective Grep Patterns for Semantic Queries

Authentication/Authorization:

(auth|login|session|token|permission|role|access)

API/Routing:

(route|endpoint|api|handler|controller)

Data Access:

(repository|dao|query|database|model)

UI Components:

(component|widget|view|template)

Case Sensitivity

• Use case-insensitive search (-i flag) for semantic queries
• Preserve exact casing for technical terms in results

File Type Filtering

When semantic query targets specific file types:

/refactor "test utilities"

Strategy:

• Use Grep with --glob filter for .test.ts, .spec.ts patterns
• Infer file type from semantic context ("test" → test files)

Validation and Safety

Path Existence Checks

Before treating arguments as paths:

# Use Glob to check existence
Glob: pattern="path/to/check"

If Glob returns results → valid path If Glob returns empty → treat as semantic query

Repository Root Resolution

All paths should be relative to repository root:

• Verify current working directory is within git repository
• Resolve relative paths from repository root
• Reject paths outside repository boundaries

Excluded Patterns

Never include in refactoring scope:

• node_modules/, .git/, dist/, build/
• Lock files: package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, uv.lock
• Compiled artifacts: .min.js, .bundle.js

Use Grep --glob exclusions to enforce.