RefactorEx

RefactorEx is a powerful Visual Studio Code extension that simplifies and accelerates code refactoring for Elixir projects. It introduces intuitive code actions to help you refactor Elixir code efficiently and confidently.

With RefactorEx, you can perform common refactorings like extracting functions, renaming variables, and more — all within a few clicks.

Available refactorings

Scope	Refactoring	Target
alias	Expand aliases	selection
alias	Extract alias	selection
alias	Inline alias	selection
alias	Merge aliases	selection
alias	Sort nested aliases	line
constant	Extract constant	selection
constant	Inline constant	selection
constant	Rename constant	selection
function	Expand anonymous function	selection
function	Extract anonymous function	selection
function	Extract function	selection
function	Collapse anonymous function	selection
function	Inline function	selection
function	Rename function	selection
function	Underscore unused args	line
function	Use keyword syntax	line
function	Use regular syntax	line
guard	Extract guard	selection
guard	Inline guard	selection
guard	Rename guard	selection
if else	Use keyword syntax	line
if else	Use regular syntax	line
pipeline	Introduce IO.inspect	selection
pipeline	Introduce pipe	line
pipeline	Remove IO.inspect	line
pipeline	Remove pipe	line
variable	Extract variable	selection
variable	Inline variable	selection
variable	Rename variable	selection

How to use each refactoring

Alias: expand aliases

Description	Expand nested aliases to their full names
Target	Selection of nested alias, group of nested aliases or alias with nesting
Inverse of	Merge aliases
Read more	Catalog of Elixir refactorings
Example

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Alias: extract alias

Description	Extract the module full name into an alias and use it
Target	Selection of module full name
Inverse of	Inline alias
Example

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Alias: inline alias

Description	Replace the alias usage by the module full name
Target	Selection of alias usage
Inverse of	Extract alias
Notes	1. alias must be declared on the same module 2. alias declaration will not be removed
Example

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Alias: merge aliases

Description	Merge the group of aliases into a nested alias
Target	Selection of two or more mergeable aliases
Inverse of	Expand aliases
Example

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Alias: sort nested aliases

Description	Sort all nested aliases alphabetically
Target	Line of alias with unsorted nested aliases
Example

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Constant: extract constant

Description	Extract a piece of code into a constant
Target	Selection of any code without variables
Inverse of	Inline constant
Read more	Catalog of Elixir refactorings
Example

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Constant: inline constant

Description	Replace a constant usage by its value
Target	Selection of constant
Inverse of	Extract constant
Notes	1. constant must be declared on the same module 2. constant declaration will not be removed
Example

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Constant: rename constant

Description	Replace the name of constant in all its usages
Target	Selection of (or cursor over) constant
Read more	Catalog of Elixir refactorings
Example

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Function: collapse anonymous function

Description	Collapse a fn function into a & function
Target	Selection of fn function
Inverse of	Expand anonymous function
Example

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Function: extract anonymous function

Description	Extract a & or fn function into a function
Target	Selection of & or fn function
Inverse of	Inline function
Read more	Catalog of Elixir refactorings
Example

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Function: expand anonymous function

Description	Expand a & function into a fn function
Target	Selection of & function
Inverse of	Collapse anonymous function
Example

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Function: extract function

Description	Extract a piece of code into a function
Target	Selection of any code
Inverse of	Inline function
Read more	Catalog of Elixir refactorings
Example

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Function: inline function

Description	Replace a function call by its body
Target	Selection of function call
Inverse of	Extract anonymous function, Extract function
Read more	Catalog of Elixir refactorings
Notes	1. function must be defined on the same module 2. function definition will not be removed
Example

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Function: rename function

Description	Replace the name of function in all its calls
Target	Selection of (or cursor over) function name
Read more	Catalog of Elixir refactorings
Notes	⚠️ Renaming a public function only affects the current file
Example

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Function: underscore unused args

Description	Places a _ in front of args not used
Target	Line of function definition with unused args
Example

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Function: use keyword syntax

Description	Rewrite the function using keyword syntax
Target	Line of function definition using regular syntax
Inverse of	Use regular syntax
Notes	function body must have a single statement
Example

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Function: use regular syntax

Description	Rewrite the function using regular syntax
Target	Line of function definition using keyword syntax
Inverse of	Use keyword syntax
Example

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Guard: extract guard

Description	Extract a when statement into a guard
Target	Selection of when statement or part of one
Inverse of	Inline guard
Example

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Guard: inline guard

Description	Replace a guard call by its when statement
Target	Selection of guard call
Inverse of	Extract guard
Notes	1. guard must be defined on the same module 2. guard definition will not be removed
Example

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Guard: rename guard

Description	Replace the name of guard in all its calls
Target	Selection of (or cursor over) guard name
Read more	Catalog of Elixir refactorings
Notes	⚠️ Renaming a public guard only affects the current file
Example

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If else: use keyword syntax

Description	Rewrite the if else using keyword syntax
Target	Line of if using regular syntax
Inverse of	Use regular syntax
Notes	Clauses must have a single statement
Example

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If else: use regular syntax

Description	Rewrite the if else using regular syntax
Target	Line of if using keyword syntax
Inverse of	Use keyword syntax
Example

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Pipeline: introduce IO.inspect

Description	Pipe a piece of code into an IO.inspect
Target	Selection of any code
Inverse of	Remove IO.inspect
Example

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Pipeline: introduce pipe

Description	Pipe the first arg into function call or case condition
Target	Line of function call or case condition
Inverse of	Remove pipe
Example

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Pipeline: remove IO.inspect

Description	Remove IO.inspect call
Target	Line of IO.inspect call
Inverse of	Introduce IO.inspect
Example

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Pipeline: remove pipe

Description	Remove |> from function call or case condition
Target	Line of pipe (|>)
Inverse of	Introduce pipe
Read more	Catalog of Elixir refactorings
Example

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Variable: extract variable

Description	Extract a piece of code into a variable
Target	Selection of any code
Inverse of	Inline variable
Read more	Catalog of Elixir refactorings
Example

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Variable: inline variable

Description	Replace all usages of variable by its value
Target	Selection of variable declaration or assignment
Inverse of	Extract variable
Read more	Catalog of Elixir refactorings
Example

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Variable: rename variable

Description	Replace the name of variable in all its usages
Target	Selection of (or cursor over) variable assignment
Read more	Catalog of Elixir refactorings
Example

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