[IMPROVEMENT] Improving code quality with linting, formatting, and modular...

[devwif]

[IMPROVEMENT] Elevate Code Quality with Rigorous Linting, Formatting, and Modularization

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🧩 Problem Statement

Current codebase of svmai-cli is in a nascent, MVP state with minimal structure, inconsistent formatting, and tightly coupled logic. This situation increases technical debt, slows down development velocity, and risks long-term maintainability. We need to improve code quality by introducing strict linting, consistent formatting, and clear modularization, ensuring a rock-solid foundation for future features and stability.

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📚 Technical Context

• Repository: larp0/svmai-cli
• Language: Rust
• Project Status: Early prototype with minimal community traction and limited recent commits
• Current Pain Points:
  • Lack of consistent coding style and formatting
  • Potentially monolithic or tangled code modules
  • Missing or minimal linting rules leading to error-prone code
  • Minimal tests coverage and unclear module boundaries
• Why this matters:
  High-quality code with modular design and enforced style guidelines will:
  • Make onboarding new contributors smoother and faster
  • Reduce bugs caused by inconsistent or complex code
  • Facilitate testing and future scalability
  • Boost confidence in security-critical wallet management features

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🚀 Implementation Steps

1. Audit the Current Codebase

   • Perform a comprehensive analysis of the existing code structure, formatting styles, and linting coverage.
   • Document pain points and areas violating Rust best practices or common style guides.

2. Establish Linting and Formatting Standards

   • Choose and configure a Rust linter (e.g., clippy) with a strict, but practical rule set tailored for security and maintainability.
   • Enforce formatting using rustfmt with a project-wide config to standardize code style.
   • Integrate these tools into CI pipeline for automatic checks.

3. Modularize Codebase

   • Identify logically cohesive components (e.g., wallet management, vanity address generation, key storage, CLI interface).
   • Refactor code to extract these into separate Rust modules or crates if applicable.
   • Ensure minimal coupling and clear API boundaries between modules.

4. Maintain Backward Compatibility

   • Carefully refactor without changing existing public APIs or CLI commands.
   • Add deprecation warnings if necessary for any breaking changes.

5. Update and Expand Tests

   • Add or update unit and integration tests to cover refactored modules.
   • Ensure that all existing tests pass with the new modular structure and formatting.
   • Add linting and formatting checks as part of the testing pipeline.

6. Documentation and Developer Guidelines

   • Update README or CONTRIBUTING.md with linting and formatting guidelines.
   • Document module boundaries and architectural decisions.
   • Provide instructions on how to run linters and formatters locally and in CI.

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⚙️ Technical Specifications

• Linting: Use clippy with these recommended settings:

  • Deny all warn-level lints that could cause bugs or security issues.
  • Allow a small set of false positives or stylistic preferences after team discussion.

• Formatting:

  • Use rustfmt with a consistent config (rustfmt.toml) that enforces standard Rust style.
  • Enforce formatting on all commits via pre-commit hooks or CI.

• Modularization Patterns:

  • Follow idiomatic Rust module system:
    • Each major feature in its own module directory with mod.rs or lib.rs.
    • Public interfaces exposed via pub mod declarations.
    • Internal functions kept pub(crate) or private.
  • Consider splitting very large modules into submodules for clarity.

• Backward Compatibility:

  • Preserve CLI commands and public Rust APIs as is.
  • If changes are unavoidable, provide clear migration notes.

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✅ Acceptance Criteria

• Full audit report of current code quality and structure documented in the issue or wiki
• Clippy and rustfmt configured and integrated into CI pipeline
• Codebase refactored into logical, well-documented modules
• All existing CLI commands and APIs remain functional and unchanged from user perspective
• Tests updated or added to cover refactored code, with 100% passing status
• Performance benchmarks show no regression (within ±5%) post-refactor
• Developer documentation updated with linting, formatting, and modularization guidelines

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🧪 Testing Requirements

• Static Analysis: Run Clippy with cargo clippy -- -D warnings to ensure zero lint warnings/errors.
• Formatting: Run cargo fmt -- --check to enforce consistent formatting.
• Unit Tests: Execute all unit tests covering individual modules with cargo test.
• Integration Tests: Run full suite of integration tests to verify end-to-end CLI behavior.
• Performance Testing: Run basic benchmarks or profiling to confirm no significant performance degradation.
• CI Validation: Confirm that CI pipeline enforces linting and formatting on all PRs.

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📖 Documentation Needs

• Update CONTRIBUTING.md with:

  • How to run linting and formatting tools locally
  • Coding style and modularization guidelines
  • Best practices for adding new modules and tests

• Add a new developer guide or wiki page detailing:

  • Current module boundaries and responsibilities
  • Rationale behind chosen linting and formatting rules
  • How modularization improves maintainability and extensibility

• Update README if relevant to mention improved code quality and tooling.

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⚠️ Potential Challenges

• Refactoring Risk: Modularization can introduce subtle bugs if dependencies and visibility are not handled carefully. Rigorous testing is mandatory.
• Team Agreement: Deciding on linting rules may require consensus to balance strictness and developer ergonomics.
• Legacy Code: Some legacy code might resist clean modularization without significant rewrite; prioritize incremental improvements.
• CI Integration: Ensure CI environment has correct Rust toolchain versions and dependencies to run linters and formatters smoothly.

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📚 Resources & References

• Rust Clippy Official Repo — Comprehensive linter for Rust
• Rustfmt GitHub — Rust code formatter
• The Rust Programming Language - Modules — Official guide on Rust modules
• Cargo CI Integration — Running tests and integrating with CI
• Rust API Guidelines — Best practices for Rust APIs
• Example CI linting config snippet:

name: Rust CI

on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
  lint-and-test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - name: Install Rust toolchain
        uses: actions-rs/toolchain@v1
        with:
          toolchain: stable
          override: true
      - name: Run rustfmt check
        run: cargo fmt -- --check
      - name: Run Clippy
        run: cargo clippy -- -D warnings
      - name: Run tests
        run: cargo test --all

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Let's forge a codebase so clean and modular, even the blockchain gods will nod in approval. This is the foundation for all future feats of cryptographic sorcery within svmai-cli — let’s make it impeccable!