Is my project getting messy?

What this page is for: spotting the organisation problems AI-written code tends to pile up — loops, dead files, copied code, shortcuts — before they make every new change harder.

Nothing here blocks anything. It is information to help you (and your AI tool) keep the project easy to change.

Steps

1. Open Structure (how).
2. Press Structure health at the top of the plan.
3. Each problem says what it is and why it matters, with its proof.
4. Press Show in the plan to see it on the floor plan.

In the Terminal, codetac structure ends with a summary of the structure's health.

What each problem means

Problem	What it is	Why it matters
Import loops	files that import each other in a circle	a change in one can break the other, and an AI editing one rarely sees the loop
Shortcuts past the server	browser code that talks straight to the database or an outside service, although the project has its own server routes	it shows keys and logic to anyone; going through the server keeps them hidden
Too many links	a block or file that everything depends on, or that depends on everything	a change there can break the whole project; it probably mixes too many jobs
Copied code	the same code in several places	a fix made in one copy is easily missed in the others
Files nothing uses	files no file imports and no framework or script starts	dead code misleads you and the AI: it gets read, copied and fixed although it never runs
Large files	files over 400 lines (you can change the limit)	hard to review; an AI editing them tends to rewrite parts it was not asked to touch
Exports nothing imports	something a file offers that no file uses	probably left over from an earlier version

“possibly”

Some files look unused but may still run — for example a file in a folder that frameworks load by themselves, or a file in public/ loaded by its address. codeTAC then says possibly, and why. Files that frameworks start by themselves (Next.js pages, layouts, routes, middleware, tests, config files, what package.json starts; in Python, the file that creates the app, __init__.py, __main__.py, wsgi.py/asgi.py, migrations…) are never called dead.

Changing the limits

In the settings file, under smells, you can change the limits (for example "largeFileLines": 600) or turn a kind off ("off": ["unused-export"]). See Settings file.

What it means

A few problems are normal in any project. What matters is the trend: if every AI change adds a new loop or a new copy, the project is getting harder to change. Use What did the AI change? to catch them as they appear.

A good way to use this page: copy a problem and its proof into your AI tool and ask it to fix that one thing.

What it can't tell you

• Unused functions inside a used file are not found.
• require() and import() count as using everything in a file.
• Copied code counts only when the names are the same; copies with renamed variables are missed.
• Frameworks other than Next.js are known only by their usual folders and names — so their files may be marked possibly.