Duplicate Code: repeated package.json parse boilerplate in repoPolicyCheck handlers

🔍 Duplicate Code Detected: PackageJson parse boilerplate in repoPolicyCheck

Analysis of commit 73a892497061d9677f4ebe0fd3394476ad60c98f

Assignee: @copilot

Summary

Multiple repo policy-check handlers repeat the same package.json read/parse/try-catch boilerplate (and closely related follow-up checks). This appears 20+ times and makes it easy for behavior to drift (e.g., inconsistent error return shapes).

Duplication Details

Pattern: Read + parse package.json with identical try/catch

• Severity: Medium

• Occurrences: 22+ instances (20 in npmPackages.ts, 2 in fluidBuildTasks.ts)

• Locations (examples):

  • build-tools/packages/build-cli/src/library/repoPolicyCheck/npmPackages.ts (lines 775–781)
  • build-tools/packages/build-cli/src/library/repoPolicyCheck/npmPackages.ts (lines 872–876)
  • build-tools/packages/build-cli/src/library/repoPolicyCheck/npmPackages.ts (lines 895–899)
  • build-tools/packages/build-cli/src/library/repoPolicyCheck/npmPackages.ts (lines 1175–1179)
  • build-tools/packages/build-cli/src/library/repoPolicyCheck/fluidBuildTasks.ts (lines 770–775)
  • build-tools/packages/build-cli/src/library/repoPolicyCheck/fluidBuildTasks.ts (lines 829–834)

• Code Sample (representative):

  let json: PackageJson;
  try {
      json = JSON.parse(readFile(file)) as PackageJson;
  } catch {
      return `Error parsing JSON file: \$\{file}`;
  }
  

Impact Analysis

• Maintainability: Changes to parsing (e.g., JSON5 support, better error details, validation) must be made in many places.
• Bug Risk: Some handlers return different error shapes on parse failure (string vs { resolved: false, message }), increasing drift risk.
• Code Bloat: The same 6–8 line block repeated 20+ times adds noise and makes the actual policy logic harder to scan.

Refactoring Recommendations

1. Extract a shared helper

   • Suggested location: build-tools/packages/build-cli/src/library/repoPolicyCheck/common.ts
   • Example shape:
     • tryReadPackageJson(file): { ok: true; json: PackageJson } | { ok: false; message: string }
     • (Optionally) readPackageJsonOrThrow + centralized catch-to-message wrapper.
   • Benefits: one place to improve error messages/validation and keep return conventions consistent.

2. Standardize parse-error handling across handlers

   • Pick one convention for parse failures (e.g., always return a string message) and adapt the few handlers that currently return objects.

Implementation Checklist

• Introduce helper in repoPolicyCheck/common.ts (or similar)
• Replace repeated try/catch blocks in npmPackages.ts and fluidBuildTasks.ts
• Ensure handler return types remain correct (string vs { resolved, message } patterns)
• Run existing build/lint/test for build-cli as appropriate

Analysis Metadata

• Analyzed Files (focused subset): build-tools/packages/build-cli/src/library/repoPolicyCheck/npmPackages.ts, build-tools/packages/build-cli/src/library/repoPolicyCheck/fluidBuildTasks.ts
• Detection Method: Serena semantic pattern search (search_for_pattern) + targeted line inspection
• Commit: 73a892497061d9677f4ebe0fd3394476ad60c98f
• Analysis Date: 2026-04-13T21:56:03.874Z

Generated by Duplicate Code Detector · ◷

To install this agentic workflow, run

gh aw add github/gh-aw/.github/workflows/duplicate-code-detector.md@94662b1dee8ce96c876ba9f33b3ab8be32de82a4

Start with build-tools/packages/build-cli/src/library/repoPolicyCheck/npmPackages.ts and fluidBuildTasks.ts, inspecting the listed parse blocks and their handler return types. Review repoPolicyCheck/common.ts and run the existing build, lint, and test checks for build-cli. Done means the repeated parsing is centralized, return conventions remain correct, and the affected checks pass.