C# Refactoring (behavior-preserving)

A refactor changes structure, never observable behavior. Do the edit with binding-aware tools, then confirm behavior held with a build + the relevant tests. Keep the effort proportional to the change: a one-line local rename does not need the ceremony a public multi-targeted change does.

Mandatory gate: classify before validation or editing

Read only enough repository context to classify each requested operation. Do this before restoring, building, or making an edit. Classification precedence is:

• If the request explicitly asks for at least one separable behavior-preserving operation, complete that structural work and defer only the behavior-changing or contract-changing operations. Do not invent or infer structural work to avoid the stop response.
• If the structural and behavior-changing parts cannot be separated, use the whole-request stop response and state why they are inseparable.
• Otherwise, use the whole-request stop response only when every requested operation is outside behavior-preserving refactoring.

For a whole request that is outside behavior-preserving refactoring:

1. State: Not a behavior-preserving refactor: <specific reason>.
2. State: No files changed.
3. State: Next workflow: <workflow>. Then stop. Do not add manual implementation steps, alternatives, an offer to proceed without the workflow, or a follow-up question — even when that workflow is unavailable.

Requested as a "refactor"	Classification and action
Framework or NuGet version change	Upgrade. Do not edit or validate the upgrade here; hand off to dotnet-upgrade.
New capability, flag, endpoint, tier, or behavior	Feature. Do not implement it here; hand off to the repository's feature workflow.
Threshold, rate, output, or bug-result change	Behavior change. Defer it and hand off to the repository's bug-fix or behavior-change workflow; still complete any clearly separable structural operation.
Tighten or loosen a shipped/public nullable annotation	Source-contract change. Leave the declaration and API record unchanged; hand off to the repository's API-contract workflow.

For a mixed request, never stop after classification. Perform the separable structural operation, explicitly defer the behavior/contract change, and never state No files changed. after completing structural work. Never modify tests to make an unauthorized behavior change appear preserved.

Work only in the current workspace

Use the current agent workspace as the boundary. If it is a Git checkout, resolve its repository root (git rev-parse --show-toplevel) and stay inside it. If Git metadata is absent, treat the current working directory and its subdirectories as the boundary, and use a solution or project named in the request inside it; Git is not a prerequisite for a refactor. Resolve prompt-provided relative paths inside that boundary.

Search and edit only that workspace. Never use filesystem-wide search or select a similarly named clone, another worktree, build output, or unrelated temporary directory because a file also exists there. If a named path is absent, stop and report the mismatch instead of guessing another workspace. If a tool rejects an in-workspace path for a mechanical reason such as path form or unsupported tool root, retry through another in-workspace mechanism. If the rejection is a permission or policy denial, report it instead of working around it. Never search outside the boundary.

Rename / move by bindings, not text

The #1 way a "rename" silently corrupts code is editing textual matches (comments, strings, unrelated overloads) instead of real bindings. Find every binding reference first, then edit semantically. Use the strongest tool available: an IDE/Roslyn workspace refactoring, then the C# LSP the dotnet plugin declares (findReferences, goToDefinition, incomingCalls, rename code action), then analyzer code-fixes / Roslynator, then compiler-validated edits (edit the true bindings, rebuild, let the compiler flag misses). Plain find/replace only when scope is provably tiny and every hit is verified. Include every partial declaration, and edit the generator input, never generated (*.g.cs) output.

For the operation → Roslyn-provider mapping and representative PRs, see references/operation-catalog.md.

Consolidate toward the existing source of truth

When de-duplicating, preserve the ownership direction stated by the code or request. If B duplicates an implementation already owned by A, keep A canonical and make B delegate to it; do not invert the dependency merely because either direction compiles. Preserve public compatibility wrappers when the duplicate surface is shipped, and migrate only in-repo callers that are safe to move.

Decisions that change the edit

Use the first matching row instead of applying the requested operation mechanically:

Situation	Do	Never
Inline an internal, unshipped pass-through wrapper	Migrate every binding reference to the target, remove the wrapper, then compile to catch misses.	Keep dead indirection "for compatibility" when no compatibility boundary exists.
Inline or remove a shipped/public wrapper	Migrate ordinary in-repo callers, but retain an [Obsolete] forwarding entry point unless the request explicitly authorizes a breaking change.	Delete a shipped API merely because all current source callers were migrated.
Rename a member reached by a string, reflection, DI, or configuration	Rename binding-based callers; preserve the observed external name with a forwarding shim or metadata, and exercise the old-name path.	Rewrite an external/configured name just to make the new source name consistent.
Extract duplicated logic whose callers pass different values	Extract the algorithm and pass each caller's existing inputs through unchanged.	Collapse distinct inputs, evaluation order, rounding, or side effects into one caller's version.
Rename code compiled under #if or multiple TFMs	Update every source branch and validate each target framework explicitly.	Treat a green default-target build as evidence for unbuilt branches.
Merge near-identical types	Parameterize only the values that differ, migrate every construction site, and preserve each old value exactly. If the old types are internal/unshipped and the request says to merge into one type, delete their declarations.	Retain unnecessary aliases, static holders, factories, or wrapper types that leave the requested merge incomplete; introduce a new hierarchy or behavior.

Preserve contracts beyond C# call sites

Compilation proves binding compatibility, not every external contract. Before renaming or moving a type/member, check whether its name or metadata is observed by serialization, reflection, dependency injection, configuration binding, source generators, P/Invoke, or dynamic.

Boundary	Required decision
Serialized/configuration name	Preserve the external name with the repository's existing mechanism (for example, JsonPropertyName) while migrating C# callers; run a focused round-trip or payload test.
Public nullable annotation	The mandatory classification gate applies: leave it unchanged and hand off as a source-contract change.
Uncovered reflection or runtime lookup	Do not guess that a compile-clean rename is safe. Preserve the observed name or stop and report the unverified runtime boundary.

Verify proportionally

Confirm behavior is preserved after the edit — scaled to blast radius, not a fixed ceremony:

• Local / private (method-local or private member, one file, single target framework, no public surface, no partial/generated/#if): skip a separate baseline unless the tree is already suspect. Make the edit, then run the narrowest build and relevant tests once. Let the compiler catch missed references.
• Cross-boundary (public/shipped symbol, multi-targeted project, #if/platform branches, or partial/generated code): establish a baseline, then run an explicit build and the relevant tests for each target framework after the edit (a test command's implicit build is not separate build evidence; a green default build can hide a break on another TFM), and run the hazards check below.

Use the repo's own build/test workflow when it documents one (README/CONTRIBUTING, build.*, eng/, global.json, .github/workflows); its instructions win over any generic command.

Typical workflow (one operation)

1. Choose one named refactoring operation and keep the step focused on that operation only.
2. Find true binding references (findReferences/goToDefinition/rename) and include all partial declarations.
3. Establish a baseline first only for a cross-boundary change or a tree not already known green.
4. Apply the change via the most semantics-aware tool available; avoid blind find/replace when possible.
5. Rebuild and run the relevant tests. If the gate goes red, report the failure and repair or reassess only your edit; never discard unrelated worktree changes.

Otherwise:

dotnet build   # 0 errors
dotnet test    # stays green; same pass count as before

One operation per step; never mix a refactor and a behavior change in the same step. On red, stop and report the failure; repair only your edit without discarding unrelated worktree changes.

Final response contract

Keep the handoff concise and evidence-based:

• Refactor: name the structural operation and the symbols/files changed.
• Preserved: name the behavior or compatibility boundary and the mechanism that preserved it.
• Validation: report the exact commands and observed result; never claim success after a failed restore, build, target framework, or test run.
• Deferred: for a mixed request, name the behavior/contract change intentionally left undone and its correct next workflow. Omit this line when nothing was deferred.

Cross-boundary hazards (only when it touches a boundary)

If — and only if — the change touches a public symbol, a multi-targeted project, or partial/generated code, some breaks won't show up as a failing test. Search the repo for the surface that governs the symbol (don't assume): the public-API gate (PublicAPI.Shipped/Unshipped.txt for PublicApiAnalyzers, and/or ApiCompat/<EnablePackageValidation> — not interchangeable), <TargetFrameworks>/#if branches, and InternalsVisibleTo. Moving a public type to another assembly needs [TypeForwardedTo] in the original assembly; a move within one assembly does not. A public rename needs an [Obsolete] shim, not a forwarder. For a provably local/private change, skip these checks.

Stop an in-scope refactor when

• The baseline is already red (you can't prove you preserved behavior).
• The requested structural change would alter a public/shipped API and no compatibility shim or forwarder can preserve it. Report the boundary. Use the gate's handoff format when no structural work was completed; after separable work, put the incompatible operation on the Deferred: line instead. Do not ask to make the breaking change.
• Equivalence depends on runtime behavior tests don't cover (reflection, DI, serialization, dynamic, P/Invoke) — report the unverified boundary instead of claiming behavior was preserved.