NW-MIKADO: Complex Refactoring with Mikado Method

SkillDev tools

[EXPERIMENTAL] Complex refactoring roadmaps with visual tracking

Available today. Use it from your connected AI after setup.

Connect ahel once, and every AI you use reads what you have installed.

Then ask your AI: use the NW-MIKADO: Complex Refactoring with Mikado Method skill

What this skill tells your AI

The instructions your AI receives, as published by nwave-ai/nwave in nWave/skills/nw-mikado/SKILL.md and read by ahel’s review.

EXPERIMENTAL: Under active development. Behavior and output format may change between versions.

Wave: CROSS_WAVE Agent: Crafty (nw-software-crafter) Command: *mikado

Overview

Plan and execute complex refactoring using the Mikado Method. Builds dependency {visualization} through iterative exploration|tracks discoveries via commits|executes leaf-to-goal bottom-up. For architectural changes spanning multiple classes where simple refactoring is insufficient.

Context Files Required

  • src/* - Codebase to refactor
  • docs/product/architecture/brief.md - Target architecture (if available)

Agent Invocation

@nw-software-crafter

Execute *mikado for {refactoring-goal}.

Context Files:

  • src/*
  • docs/product/architecture/brief.md

Configuration:

  • refactoring_goal: "{goal description with business value}"
  • complexity: complex # simple/moderate/complex
  • visualization: {tree|graph} # tree = indented markdown checklist, graph = Mermaid dependency diagram

Success Criteria

  • Mikado {visualization} persisted at docs/mikado/{goal-name}.mikado.md
  • Discovery commits capture each exploration attempt
  • All leaf nodes implemented bottom-up
  • Goal node achieved with all tests passing
  • {visualization_label} stable (no new dependencies emerging)

Visualization labels: tree → "Tree", graph → "Graph". Use the selected visualization type in all output messages (e.g., "Wrote the Mikado tree" or "Wrote the Mikado graph").

Next Wave

Handoff To: {invoking-agent-returns-to-workflow} Deliverables: Refactored codebase + Mikado {visualization} documentation

Examples

Example 1: Extract shared domain model

/nw-mikado "Extract shared domain model from monolithic service layer"

Crafty builds Mikado dependency {visualization} through iterative exploration, discovers 12 leaf nodes across 4 modules, executes bottom-up from leaves to goal with discovery commits at each step.

Expected Outputs

docs/mikado/{goal-name}.mikado.md
src/*                                (refactored implementation)
Discovery-tracking commits in git log

Signals

GitHub stars
610
Forks
64
Last commit
Sep 2026
Advanced
Catalog kind
skill
Gateway key
nw-mikado
Source
github.com/nwave-ai/nwave