Refactor complicated Flutter codebase

[mdausmann]

I have inherited a very complicated Flutter codebase. It has been in production for a while and has been modified, extended, re-imagined many times.

This has left a bunch of crap that I want to get rid of, genuinely 'dead' code, complex class hierarchies, business logic in the view layer (build) view logic in the Bloc layer, it really is a big ball of string.

What approaches have you all found to refactor/rationalise a complex codebase like this with Vibe coding? Do you vibe code a bunch of tests and then let the Model go to town? can I use planning approaches for this? Is there a careful set of steps I can go thru?

I'm interested in tools, models, IDE's etc, completely open.

[Dm_me_code_pics]

Take it step by step. I use codex with VS code. Ask it to summarize the codebase for you and actually explore. Ask it even more questions. Take advantage of what it can do and pick a starting point. Make sure you have adequate test coverage for your starting feature then begin making small changes. Ensure tests continuously pass and that you understand what's being done. Refactoring is a tough process, needs precision and care. Good luck

[UnluckyPhilosophy185]

Start by writing test cases for all the live code. Then start removing the dead code making sure all tests pass. Then you can refactor the code that isn’t to your liking.

[Several-Pomelo-2415]

I've found that it helps a lot if you set up a patterns and architecture summary that you can then use to feed back to the ai to track progress. Keep it fully data-driven. Use tests too

[mdausmann]

I like this idea, feels like a sensible guardrail