improve-frontend
Testing & QualityUse when wanting to systematically improve the React/TypeScript frontend - scans for security vulnerabilities, stability risks, performance issues, and code simplification opportunities, then presents 5 ranked findings for the user to choose from
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Improve Frontend
Systematically scan the React/TypeScript frontend for improvement opportunities. Identify 5 concrete issues ranked by priority (security > stability > performance > simplicity), present them to the user, and fix the one they choose.
Arguments
/improve-frontend [area] — optional focus area (e.g., refresh, object-panel,
browse, tables, streaming). Without an argument, scan broadly.
How It Works
- Scan the frontend code for issues across all priority tiers.
- Rank findings: security first, then stability, performance, simplicity.
- Present exactly 5 findings as a numbered list with severity, location, and one-line description.
- Wait for the user to pick one (or request a rescan of a different area).
- Fix the chosen issue, following all project rules from AGENTS.md.
Scan Procedure
Phase 1: Gather Context
- Read
frontend/AGENTS.mdandbackend/AGENTS.mdfor current conventions. - If an
[area]argument was given, scope file discovery to that module/directory. Otherwise, sample broadly: pick 8-12 files acrosscore/,modules/,shared/, andui/, weighting toward files with recent git activity or high line counts. - Check git log for recently changed files — fresh churn often harbors fresh bugs.
Phase 2: Security Scan (Priority 1)
Look for these patterns in React/TypeScript code:
| Category | What to look for |
|---|---|
| XSS vectors | Use of dangerouslySetInnerHTML (the React escape hatch for raw HTML), unescaped interpolation into DOM attributes, rendering untrusted HTML from K8s annotations/labels/events. |
| Sensitive data exposure | Kubeconfig contents, tokens, or secrets logged to console, stored in localStorage without encryption, or visible in React DevTools state. |
| Insecure communication | Direct fetch/XMLHttpRequest calls bypassing the refresh client (core/refresh/client.ts is the only approved fetch path). |
| Injection via K8s data | K8s object names, labels, and annotations are user-controlled strings. Check they're not used unsanitized in URLs, DOM IDs, or template literals that construct code. |
| Prototype pollution | Deep-merge utilities, spread of unvalidated external objects, Object.assign from API responses without allowlisting keys. |
| Dependency risk | Outdated frontend dependencies with known CVEs (check package.json versions). |
Phase 3: Stability Scan (Priority 2)
| Category | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Memory leaks | Subscriptions, event listeners, timers, or WebSocket handlers not cleaned up in useEffect return. Streams not closed on unmount. |
| Missing error boundaries | Component trees that can crash the whole app on a bad K8s response. Detail panels and streaming components are high-risk. |
| Race conditions | Stale closure bugs in useEffect/useCallback, async operations that don't check if the component is still mounted, state updates after unmount. |
| Null/undefined safety | Optional chaining missing on K8s API response fields (many are nullable), array methods called on potentially undefined values. |
| Multi-cluster correctness | Any component or hook that assumes a single cluster context, ignores clusterId, or doesn't reset state on cluster switch. This is a project-wide rule. |
| State consistency | Stale cache after cluster/namespace switch, contexts that don't clear on disconnect, derived state that can desync from source. |
Phase 4: Performance Scan (Priority 3)
| Category | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Unnecessary re-renders | Components re-rendering on every parent render due to missing memo, inline object/array/function props, or unstable context values. |
| Large bundle impact | Heavy imports that could be lazy-loaded, barrel file re-exports pulling in entire modules. |
| Expensive computations | useMemo/useCallback missing where computation is non-trivial, or present with incorrect dependency arrays. |
| Redundant data fetching | Multiple components requesting the same data independently instead of sharing via the refresh orchestrator. |
| Table performance | GridTable rendering issues — missing row virtualization for large resource lists, column factory functions recreated each render. |
| CSS waste | Unused CSS classes, overly broad selectors causing layout thrash, missing will-change for animated elements. |
Phase 5: Simplicity Scan (Priority 4)
| Category | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Dead code | Exported components/hooks/utils with zero imports, unreachable branches, commented-out JSX. |
| Duplication | Copy-pasted component logic, repeated fetch-and-transform patterns, similar components that could share a base. |
| Over-abstraction | Wrapper components that just pass props through, hooks that wrap a single useState, unnecessary HOCs. |
| Consolidation | Multiple small utility functions doing nearly the same thing, similar type definitions that could be unified. |
| Stale patterns | Class components, legacy context API usage, patterns the rest of the codebase has moved away from. |
Phase 6: Cross-Boundary Check
For each finding, consider whether it has a backend counterpart:
- Does the backend send data that the frontend processes unsafely?
- Would a frontend fix require the backend to change its response shape?
- Is a frontend performance issue actually caused by backend over-fetching?
Note cross-boundary impacts in the finding description.
Presenting Findings
Present findings as a numbered markdown list. Each item includes:
N. **[SEVERITY] Category — file:line**
One-line description of the issue.
Impact: What could go wrong / what improves.
[Cross-boundary: note if backend is affected]
Severity tags: SECURITY, STABILITY, PERFORMANCE, SIMPLICITY
Order by priority (security first), then by impact within the same tier.
Example:
1. **[SECURITY] XSS vector — frontend/src/modules/object-panel/components/EventsTab.tsx:62**
K8s event message rendered as raw unescaped HTML.
Impact: Malicious event messages could execute arbitrary JS in the app.
2. **[STABILITY] Memory leak — frontend/src/core/refresh/streaming/resourceStreamManager.ts:104**
WebSocket onmessage handler not removed on reconnect, accumulating listeners.
Impact: Memory growth over long sessions; eventual tab crash.
Cross-boundary: Backend WebSocket endpoint sends binary frames that amplify the leak.
After the list, ask: "Which one should we fix? (pick a number, or say 'rescan' for a different area)"
Fixing the Chosen Issue
- Read the full file context around the issue.
- Make the minimal correct fix — don't refactor surrounding code.
- If the fix changes a component's props or a hook's return type, check all consumers.
- If cross-boundary, note what the backend needs to change (but don't change it
here — use
/improve-backendfor that). - Write or update tests to cover the fix. Use Vitest with specs next to the
implementation (
*.test.ts[x]). - Run
mage qc:prereleaseto verify nothing breaks.
What NOT to Do
- Don't report style-only issues (formatting, import order) — Biome handles style.
- Don't suggest adding comments, JSDoc, or type annotations as an "improvement."
- Don't flag things that are intentional patterns documented in AGENTS.md.
- Don't propose large-scale refactors as a single finding — break them down.
- Don't change dependencies without strong justification (CVE, bug).
- Don't suggest adding inline styles — the project forbids them (use CSS classes).