review-and-refactor Skill (awesome-copilot) for Claude: What It Does and How to Install It

Makes Claude review your project against the coding instructions in .github and refactor the code, keeping existing files intact.

Installs: 11.1K; on skills.sh
Stars: 40.7K; on GitHub
Updated: Oct 2026; last repo commit

This is a short skill with four steps. Claude reads the guidelines in .github/instructions/*.md and .github/copilot-instructions.md, reviews all the code, and makes refactorings where needed. The result should be clean, maintainable code that follows those instructions.

It sets two rules: do not split the code, keeping existing files intact, and if the project has tests, make sure they still pass after the changes. It bundles no scripts and names no tools or keys. It works best when your repo already has the instruction files.

Good for

Teams that keep coding guidelines in .github/instructions
Developers who want a cleanup pass that respects their standards
Maintainers of long-lived codebases

Install review-and-refactor

Claude Code

Copy this prompt.

Install the review-and-refactor skill in Claude Code. Run this command:

npx skills add https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot --skill review-and-refactor

Then check that it loaded and tell me how to use it.

2
Paste it into Claude Code. It shows the change and asks before running it.

Requires Node.js.

From its listing on skills.sh. Source.

What's in the skill

When it loads

Review and refactor code in your project according to defined instructions

Sections in SKILL.md

Role
Task

Key facts

Author: github (awesome-copilot repo owner)
License: MIT
Installs on skills.sh: 11,075 (Nov 2, 2026)
GitHub stars: 40,666 for the whole github/awesome-copilot repo (Nov 2, 2026)
Last repo commit: Oct 30, 2026
What it includes: 1 file: SKILL.md. The folder has no other files
Needs: Coding guidelines in .github/instructions/*.md and .github/copilot-instructions.md. SKILL.md names no tools or keys

What it includes

Act as a senior engineer focused on long-term maintenance
SKILL.md sets the persona: extensive experience maintaining projects over a long time with clean code and best practices.
Read · Role
Read .github/instructions/*.md and .github/copilot-instructions.md
The coding standards come from those files in your repo.
Try: “Review and refactor this project using our .github instructions.”
Files · Review the guidelines
Review all the code, then refactor if needed
The aim is clean, maintainable code that follows the specified standards.
Write · Review and refactor the code
Do not split up the code
Refactoring happens inside the existing files.
Read · Keep files intact
If the project has tests, ensure they still pass
SKILL.md gives no test command, so tell Claude how to run your tests.
Read · Keep tests passing

From the official docs

Permissions

Low risk

The main risk is a broad refactor that changes more than you expected. Work on a branch and read the diff.

What it can do

Read your data
Create and change things
Delete things
Read-only mode

Watch out for

It can change many files in one pass
The task is to review all the code and refactor where needed. Use a clean branch and review the diff before you commit. github.com

Security advisories

No published security advisories as of Nov 2, 2026.

Technical details

Turning on read-only	No read-only mode is documented. Use version control.
Scopes	Claude reads the .github instruction files and edits source files across your project

Questions

What does the review-and-refactor skill do?

It makes Claude review your whole project against your own coding instructions and refactor it. It reads the guidelines in .github first, then changes the code to match them.

Does it work without .github instruction files?

SKILL.md tells Claude to read those two locations and does not say what to do if they are missing. Add your standards there, or paste them into the prompt.

Will it split my files?

No. One of its rules is not to split up the code and to keep existing files intact.

Will it run my tests?

It says to ensure tests still pass if the project has them. It names no test command, so give Claude the command to use.

Is it safe?

It bundles no scripts, but it asks Claude to review all the code and refactor it, so it can change many files in your project. Run it on a branch and read the diff. The awesome-copilot README says its customizations come from third-party developers and asks you to inspect them before installing.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository: github/awesome-copilot
Folder: skills/review-and-refactor

github/awesome-copilot skills.sh

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.

Show all 2

review-and-refactor SKILL.md · github.com
awesome-copilot README · github.com