Guides
Resolve TODO and FIXME debt responsibly
Turn actionable code comments into verified work while staging ambiguous product and compatibility decisions for the owner.
Answers: use a coding agent to resolve TODO and FIXME debt · Updated
Search tracked, human-authored source for TODO, FIXME, HACK, and XXX markers, then classify each one. A marker is actionable only when current behavior, tests, issue links, or its own explicit contract defines the result; vague intent is staged rather than guessed.
Build a scoped marker inventory
Search tracked source and tests while excluding generated files, vendored code, dependencies, build output, and archived receipts.
- Record marker, path, and nearby contract.
- Deduplicate earlier fixed and rejected findings.
- Separate actionable work from owner decisions before editing.
Complete the debt behind the comment
Resolve one actionable cluster at a time, run the item gate, and remove or update the marker only when the underlying debt is gone.
- Do not invent a feature from a vague marker.
- Do not reword markers merely to shrink the inventory.
- Stage ambiguous intent with its source and decision needed.
End with every marker accounted for
A final scoped search should find no unresolved actionable marker. Every remaining ambiguous marker needs a drafting-table entry with evidence and a next action.
Run the TODO and FIXME debt ready shift over tracked human-authored source. Resolve defined work and stage ambiguous decisions.Start with a bounded prompt
This prompt names the outcome and preserves Nightshift’s review boundary. Paste it into the supported coding host from the project you want to change.
Run the TODO and FIXME debt shift over tracked human-authored source. Resolve only comments whose behavior or tests define the result, and stage ambiguous decisions.What this workflow does not claim
- Generated files, vendored code, dependencies, build output, and archived receipts are excluded.
- Removing or rewording a marker without completing the underlying work is forbidden.
Evidence and sources
These links support the released behavior, public outcomes, or problem language described on this page.