Column · when to rewrite

When to rewrite something

2026-10-19 · InfoGap

The question

Is the cost of changing it now lower than the cost of working around it for another year? If the workarounds are growing faster than the changes, the answer is eventually yes.

The signals

• Every new feature requires touching the same fragile area.
• The people who understand it are leaving or unwilling.
• The failure modes are unpredictable rather than known.

When not to

When the thing works and the complaint is aesthetic. A rewrite of working code destroys the accumulated knowledge encoded in its oddities, and that knowledge is expensive to recover.

The middle path

Rewrite one boundary at a time, keeping the system working. It is slower and it never produces the satisfying moment — which is why it is the option that usually survives.

map · column · data · pricing