How We Audit Our Codebase Every Quarter (And Why You Should Too)
Most dev teams wait until something breaks — or a rewrite becomes inevitable — to look at their codebase with fresh eyes. We didn't want to operate that way. That's why we started doing formal quarterly codebase audits. It's been one of the smartest (and simplest) practices we've adopted.
Why Audit in the First Place?
A code audit isn't about assigning blame. It's about zooming out and asking:
- Is this system still doing what we intended?
- What's fragile or undocumented?
- Where are we accumulating debt we haven't paid down?
Without regular checkpoints, tech debt becomes invisible — until it slows everything down.
Our Quarterly Audit Flow
- Scope it: Pick 2–3 modules or services to focus on. Don't try to boil the ocean.
- Review commit history: Look for files with high churn and lots of hotfixes.
- Run linters and metrics: We use ESLint, TypeScript strict mode, and complexity analysis via
plato. - Refactor or document: Every audit results in a PR — either for code cleanup or better README/docs/tests.
- Log action items: Anything too big becomes a ticket in our "infra cleanup" board.
What We've Found So Far
- 🧼 One-off dev scripts that still run in prod — now removed
- 🐛 APIs that had stale input validation for months
- 💥 Hidden performance landmines like unbounded array pushes
- 📉 Declining test coverage in core logic folders
Make It a Culture Thing
We don't do audits top-down. Any engineer can nominate a part of the code they feel needs cleanup. It's collaborative — not bureaucratic. And since audits are scheduled, we no longer feel guilty about "refactor Fridays" or minor cleanups during sprint planning.
Pro Tips
- 📆 Timebox the audit — 3–5 days max
- 🔒 Treat it like security: small leaks grow big fast
- ✍️ Make every audit result in documentation or deletion
- ✅ Celebrate small wins (yes, even deleting 300 unused lines)
Codebase audits aren't sexy — but they're how you keep your system healthy without burning it down every 18 months. If you care about long-term velocity, put it on the calendar. Then actually show up.