pedwfrontend/memory-bank/refactor-backlog.md

Refactor Backlog (Maintainability + System Integrity)

Last updated: 2026-03-12

Priority 1 — Split actions/index.js by concern

• Problem: Single high-coupling module mixes API clients, hash/token helpers, logging, file/email/domain operations.
• Why it matters: Hard to reason about changes; high regression risk from unrelated edits.
• Target outcome: Small modules with explicit boundaries (e.g. relayClient, fileClient, notifyClient, caseService, authService).
• Initial scope: create façade layer first, then migrate call sites incrementally.
• Detailed plan: memory-bank/refactor-plan-actions-index.md
• Test gate: add unit regression tests + coverage reporting as part of this refactor.

Priority 2 — Centralize relay/hash/token forwarding logic

• Problem: pages/api/endpoint/** and related routes duplicate request-signing + token + forwarding behavior.
• Why it matters: Security-sensitive drift and inconsistent error handling.
• Target outcome: Shared relay utility enforcing one signing contract, one timeout/retry policy, one error map, one redacted logging strategy.
• Initial scope: pilot on a small endpoint group, then roll out pattern.

Priority 3 — Extract breadcrumb/back-link route-state rules

• Problem: Navigation logic in components/breadcrumbs.js and case summary is branch-heavy and query-dependent.
• Why it matters: Frequent regressions in search -> case -> myportal paths.
• Target outcome: Pure route-state helpers with table-driven tests; UI component mainly renders output.
• Initial scope: isolate va/adv/ads/key decision matrix first.

Priority 4 — Standardize security guards in pages/api/file/**

• Problem: Hash/guard enforcement appears inconsistent across file endpoints.
• Why it matters: Uneven protection for document upload/download/delete paths.
• Target outcome: Shared guard middleware for hash/auth/input validation + consistent negative-path responses.
• Initial scope: enforce a common pre-handler contract on high-risk routes first.

Priority 5 — Establish minimum automated regression baseline

• Problem: Limited automated tests for high-risk logic.
• Why it matters: Repeated regressions and heavy manual verification burden.
• Target outcome: Focused test suite for pure logic and high-risk decisions.
• Initial scope:
  1. breadcrumb decision matrix
  2. representation eligibility/date windows
  3. hash utility behavior
  4. locale rewrite mapping sanity checks

Sequencing recommendation

1. Priorities 2 + 4 (security/integrity foundation)
2. Priority 3 (high-change regression hotspot)
3. Priority 1 (structural maintainability)
4. Priority 5 (continuous safety net, starts early and expands)