Code Smell: Signs Your AI‑Generated Code Needs Attention
Not every problem announces itself with an error. Many arrive as smells—small signals that the code will cause trouble later if you ignore them now. In AI‑first development, these smells often appear because generators optimize for a working result today, not long‑term clarity. Listen to the signals and you will avoid bigger issues down the road.
Common smells to watch for
- Very long files that mix layout, data fetching, and business rules
- Deeply nested conditionals that are hard to follow
- Magic numbers or strings with unclear meaning sprinkled around
- Similar screens that were copied instead of shared
Each of these makes changes slower and bugs easier to introduce.
Why smells appear in vibe‑coded apps
Prompts favor outcomes, not structure. When you ask for a result, the AI finds a way to deliver it—often by expanding the current file or duplicating a piece that seemed close enough. This is fine early on, but as the app grows, the cost of unclear structure adds up.
Simple remedies that keep quality high
- Split long files so each has one job
- Replace repeated bits with a shared piece
- Give things names that say what they do
- Move numbers and labels into one place you can edit later
These changes are small, but they turn a confusing codebase into one you can move through quickly.
Smell today, fix today
You do not need a grand cleanup plan. Fix the smell while you are already in the area. If you are adding a field and you see copy‑paste logic, tidy it. If you are touching a very long file, split one piece now and leave it better than you found it. Momentum grows when the next change is easier than the last.
If a pile of smells has already slowed the team and you want help cutting through it, Spin by fryga can provide a quick review and a focused set of fixes that restore clarity without pausing features.
Examples of small smells that turn into big pain
- A number like 5 or 30 sprinkled in multiple files to mean “retry times” or “days to keep,” which forces a hunt whenever you want to adjust it
- A label that reads “Save” on one page and “Update” on another for the same action, which confuses users and support
- A single file that fetches data, transforms it, renders a complex layout, and navigates away on success, which makes every minor edit risky
Name the smell, then apply the smallest fix: move numbers into a single config, put shared labels in one place, split files by responsibility. The goal is not perfection; it is clarity.
A simple weekly rhythm
Pick one smell to fix alongside each feature. If you add a screen, extract a shared component used elsewhere. If you touch a complicated file, remove one layer of nesting. Over a few weeks the code will feel lighter, and shipping will feel easier.
Founder FAQs
Are smells the same as bugs? No. They are warnings. Fixing them early prevents bugs and slows less feature work later.
Should we schedule a “cleanup sprint”? Better to clean as you go. Pair each shipped feature with one small quality improvement. Momentum beats marathons.
Can AI help reduce smells? Yes—ask tools like Cursor or Claude Code to extract a shared component or rename unclear variables, but review the change to ensure it matches how users understand the product.