---
name: Brooks Debt
slug: brooks-debt
category: Quality
description: Brooks Debt identifies, classifies, and prioritizes maintainability problems and builds a refactoring roadmap using twelve classic engineering books. Use it to plan what to clean up first or justify refactoring to management.
github: "https://github.com/hyhmrright/brooks-lint/tree/main/skills/brooks-debt"
language: JavaScript
stars: 1383
forks: 61
install: "npx degit https://github.com/hyhmrright/brooks-lint/tree/main/skills/brooks-debt ~/.claude/skills/brooks-debt"
installs_to: ~/.claude/skills/brooks-debt
source_path: skills/brooks-debt/SKILL.md
collection_size: 9
category_size: 1354
collection_url: "https://dirskills.com/collections/hyhmrright/brooks-lint"
added: 2026-08-19T07:27:52.458Z
last_synced: 2026-08-19T07:27:52.458Z
canonical_url: "https://dirskills.com/skills/brooks-debt"
---

# Brooks Debt

Brooks Debt identifies, classifies, and prioritizes maintainability problems and builds a refactoring roadmap using twelve classic engineering books. Use it to plan what to clean up first or justify refactoring to management.

**Install:**

```bash
npx degit https://github.com/hyhmrright/brooks-lint/tree/main/skills/brooks-debt ~/.claude/skills/brooks-debt
```

## README

# Brooks-Lint — Tech Debt Assessment

## Setup

Read in order:

1. `../_shared/common.md` — Iron Law, Project Config, Report Template, Health Score
2. `../_shared/source-coverage.md` — book coverage, exceptions, tradeoffs
3. `../_shared/decay-risks.md` — symptom definitions and source attributions
4. `debt-guide.md` (this directory) — the debt classification framework

## Process

**Scope:** if the user did not describe the codebase or point to specific areas, apply
Auto Scope Detection (`../_shared/common.md`) first.

1. Scan for all six decay risks (Step 1 of the guide); list every finding before scoring
2. Apply the Pain × Spread priority formula and classify debt intent (Steps 2–3 of the guide)
3. Group findings by decay risk (Step 4 of the guide)
4. Output using the Report Template from common.md, plus the Debt Summary Table

**Mode line in report:** `Tech Debt Assessment`