- Local-first. SQLite database on your machine, no cloud sync.
- No account. Install and start tracking — no signup, no login.
- Works offline. Full feature set with no internet connection.
- Cookies for analytics. Google Analytics + Cloudflare beacon, no cross-site trackers.
Price your technical debt in 30 seconds
Drag the sliders. Same carrying-cost math the app uses — principal × APR ÷ 365.
Your backlog
Estimates only — nothing leaves your browser.
Math: principal = items × hours × rate · daily = principal × APR ÷ 365 · payoff = total hours ÷ weekly capacity.
Try the 0–100 priority score
Same 7-factor weights as the app. Change severity and impacts — watch the score break down by factor.
Score an item
Severity carries 25 pts · risk & dev impact 20 each · business 15 · customer 8 · frequency 7 · age 5.
Live score
Transparent — every factor shown.
Scores 57 because severity is medium and risk and business impact drive it. Worth scheduling in the next cycle.
How the 0–100 score works — the exact formula, no black box
Same weights the app uses by default (tunable in Settings; they always normalize to 100):
| Factor | Weight | How a value becomes 0–1 |
|---|---|---|
| Severity | 25 | critical 1.0 · high 0.75 · medium 0.45 · low 0.2 |
| Risk | 20 | (level − 1) ÷ 4 |
| Developer impact | 20 | (level − 1) ÷ 4 |
| Business impact | 15 | (level − 1) ÷ 4 |
| Customer impact | 8 | (level − 1) ÷ 4 |
| Frequency | 7 | (level − 1) ÷ 4 |
| Age | 5 | 0.1 / 0.3 / 0.5 / 0.75 / 1.0 at <30 / 30–90 / 90–180 / 180–365 / 365+ days |
score = round( Σ weight × value ÷ Σ weight × 100 ) — plus an optional manual override per item, and a full audit trail of every change.
See what you owe, and what it costs
Real screens from the app — native desktop, keyboard-driven, no browser tab.
A week with RefactorIQ
Watch how a single backlog transforms from chaotic to cleared.
Import in minutes
Pull issues via CSV or GitHub. Severity mapping and URL dedupe keep the backlog clean from day one.
End the debate
The engine scores every item 0–100. The data shows exactly what to fix first — no more vibes.
Brief the CFO
One click builds an executive report with ROI. Your CFO reads it. The team starts paying debt down.
RefactorIQ vs. the alternatives
Honest comparison — we build on math, not marketing.
| Feature | RefactorIQ | Spreadsheet | Jira / Linear | Doing nothing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Math that defends itself | 7-factor scoring with plain-language rationale | Manual formulas — error-prone, no audit trail | Tracks tickets, not debt value | Cost accrues silently |
| Offline / private | SQLite on your machine; no telemetry | File on disk; easy to share by accident | Needs internet; every action logged | Debt goes unmanaged |
| Payoff plan built-in | 30/60/90-day plans vs. real capacity | None — you build the roadmap yourself | No native payoff feature | No plan at all |
| Cost of waiting | Daily carrying cost per item & portfolio | Hand-rolled interest columns | Not modeled | Invisible until it hurts |
| Trial | Free browser demo, no card, no expiry | — | — | — |
RefactorIQ vs Stepsize
Stepsize brings debt workflows to Jira and Linear — a good fit if your process already lives there. It's cloud SaaS: account required, data on someone else's servers, per-seat pricing. RefactorIQ is the opposite bet: local-first with no account, debt priced in hours and dollars with a carrying-cost engine, and buy-once pricing.
Choose Stepsize if you want ticket workflows. Choose RefactorIQ if you want a private number that defends the refactoring budget.
RefactorIQ vs CodeScene
CodeScene mines your repos for code-health scores and hotspots — powerful automated analysis. It's also complex to adopt and priced for larger teams. RefactorIQ doesn't mine your code at all: you estimate in hours, it prices, scores, and plans the payoff — running offline from day one.
Choose CodeScene for automated repo forensics. Choose RefactorIQ for fast, private debt economics.
RefactorIQ vs SonarQube
SonarQube's free static analysis flags code smells with rule-based minute estimates — but teams routinely distrust those minutes, triage the noise by hand, and still can't answer “what does waiting cost?”. RefactorIQ starts from your estimates, adds business impact and carrying cost, and ranks with a rationale anyone can follow. No server to run.
Choose SonarQube for free automated smell detection. Choose RefactorIQ when estimates need defending.
RefactorIQ vs Estuate RefactorIQ
Same name, different companies and different products — we are not affiliated. Estuate's RefactorIQ is a family of agentic services for large-scale enterprise upgrades and platform migrations (Zuora, MetricStream, Alteryx-to-Incorta), sold as consulting engagements. This RefactorIQ is an independent, local-first desktop app that prices your technical debt in hours and dollars and plans the payoff — self-serve Solo $199/year, no sales call.
Choose Estuate for an enterprise migration program. Choose this RefactorIQ to put a number on your backlog. Full comparison.
Everything you need to defend the refactoring budget
Built for engineering managers who are tired of arguing with vibes.
Interest & carrying-cost engine
Every item accrues daily cost against your team's real rates — see exactly what waiting costs per day, month, and year.
Prioritization that defends itself
Transparent 0–100 scoring across severity, risk, and three kinds of impact — with a plain-language rationale and full audit trail.
30/60/90-day payoff plans
Schedule fixes against real weekly capacity and projected annual savings. Oversized items surface instead of stalling the plan.
Trends & health analytics
Outstanding debt over time, cost per area, per-team health scores — watch the curve bend after each quarter.
Executive reports
One-click quarterly summaries with ROI estimates your CFO will actually read. CSV and Excel exports included.
GitHub import
Load your existing backlog in minutes with label-based severity mapping and URL dedupe.
Local-first storage
Your data lives in a SQLite database on your machine. JSON backup, database export, and CSV round-trips whenever you want them.
Native speed
A real desktop app — command palette, shortcuts, instant search. Small binaries, no browser tab required.
Confidential by architecture, not by promise
Your codebase inventory is sensitive. Here is exactly what leaves your machine — and what never does.
Never leaves your machine
- Debt items, estimates, notes, and reports — all in a local database on your own machine.
- No account, no telemetry, no analytics callbacks in the app.
- In the browser demo, your backlog stays in your browser's local storage.
- Any ticket-provider token is stored in a
0600-permission file, never in the database or UI. - Network calls are yours to control — nothing phones home uninvited.
The only network calls
- Your email — if you submit a form on this page, that address is sent to us and stored on our list so we can contact you when the desktop app ships. That is the entire payload: no debt items, no identifiers.
- The browser demo — your backlog lives in your browser's local storage. It's never uploaded, not even when you export the CSV (that file is generated on your machine).
- The desktop app — a signed update check (opt out anytime) and, if you connect one, a ticket import. That's it.
- This page — static HTML/CSS/images, Cloudflare Web Analytics + Google Analytics (G-VNKDZ584KG), no other third-party requests. If you arrive via a
?utm_*link we count aggregate visits per source — no identifiers beyond GA's own cookies. Verify it in your browser's network panel.
Your first number in about a minute
No install, no account, no servers to configure.
Open the demo
One click from this page. It runs in a browser tab — nothing is installed and nothing is uploaded.
Load sample data
Start from 10 realistic debt items to see the model immediately, or add your own and price your real backlog.
See the burn
Every item is priced from your own rates, then accrues daily carrying cost — watch the $/day and $/yr add up.
Take it with you
Leave your email to export the whole backlog as a CSV, so you can brief whoever actually signs off on the work.
What happens at launch
There's nothing to pay for right now — here's what the path looks like when it opens, so you know what you're signing up for.
Join the list
One email with your address. That's the only thing we ask for before launch.
Get the desktop build
Windows, macOS, and Linux binaries land in your inbox on launch day, with the early-buyer price attached.
Install & import
Native app, your data in a local database. Import your backlog from CSV or pull issues from GitHub, Jira, or Linear.
Brief the business
Export the board-ready executive report and start paying debt down on schedule.
Payment problems later? Contact support — no honest payment is lost.
What it will cost — and why it pays for itself
We're in private beta, so there is nothing to buy yet. These are the launch plans, and beta members get the early-buyer price plus the desktop build on day one.
The math: 25 items × 8h × $75/h = $15,000 principal × 12% APR ÷ 365 = $4.93/day = $1,800/yr burn. Fix top 30% ≈ $540/yr saved. First number in 30s with the calculator.
Free browser demo
- Up to 10 debt items
- Carrying-cost engine & $/day burn
- 0–100 priority score with rationale
- Payoff planner & cost analytics
Solo Pro
- Unlimited debt items
- Everything in the demo, with no cap
- Board-ready executive & quarterly reports
- GitHub / Jira / Linear import
- CSV + JSON + full database export
Lifetime
- Everything in Solo Pro, forever
- All future updates included
- No recurring payments
- For early believers and founder-style buyers
Team
- Everything in Solo Pro
- Shared sync + team workflow
- Per-seat scaling
- Coming after launch
Beta members pay $99/yr for Solo Pro for their first 3 years ($199/yr after). Enterprise and self-hosted — get in touch.
Example: auth.ts:142 TODO since 2021. 12h × $75 = $900 principal × 12% ÷ 365 = $0.29/day = $108/yr for 3 lines. Fix top 3 ≈ $540/yr saved.
Frequently asked questions
Anything else — mazigh.iminem@gmail.com
What is the free browser demo?
The full RefactorIQ app running in a browser tab — same debt pricing, same carrying-cost engine, same 0–100 scoring as the desktop app. No install, no account, no card. Up to 10 debt items; your data stays in your browser and never reaches our servers. Leave your email to unlock the CSV export of your backlog.
Is my code uploaded anywhere?
No. In the desktop app everything stays in a database on your machine; in the browser demo it stays in your browser's local storage. Debt items and estimates are never sent to us. The demo makes exactly one outbound request: the email address you type, if and when you submit the form.
What do I get for my name and email?
50% off Solo Pro for your first 3 years — $99/year instead of $199, then the normal price. In exchange we ask for your name, email, company, company size, and role so we can send you something relevant and know who we're building for. No card, no drip sequence, one-click unsubscribe on every email, and your backlog is never part of it.
When can I get the desktop app?
It's in private beta now. Beta members get the desktop build the day it ships, with the discounted price already locked. The browser demo is free in the meantime and doesn't expire.
Do I need an account to use the demo?
No account, no card, no install. Open the demo and start pricing debt immediately. An email is only needed to unlock the CSV export and to hear about the desktop launch — and you can unsubscribe from any email we send.
What happens to my data in the demo?
It lives in your browser's local storage on your own device. Nothing is uploaded. You can export a CSV of everything at any time, and clearing your browser data wipes the demo workspace completely.
Can I move machines or export my data?
Yes — your data is always portable. From the demo, export a CSV of your backlog. The desktop app adds JSON backup and a full database copy, so nothing is ever locked in.
What is technical debt and how do you measure it?
Technical debt is the future cost of shortcuts in code: every workaround accrues interest in slower changes and bugs. RefactorIQ measures it as principal = estimated hours × team hourly rate, plus daily carrying cost = principal × APR ÷ 365 (default 12%, configurable). Try the calculator on this page — it uses the same math as the app.
How is RefactorIQ different from SonarQube or Jira?
SonarQube flags code smells with rule-based minute estimates and needs a server to run; Jira tracks tickets, not debt value. RefactorIQ starts from your hour estimates, adds business impact and carrying cost, ranks everything 0–100 with a plain-language rationale, and runs fully offline with no account.
Is this RefactorIQ affiliated with Estuate's RefactorIQ?
No. Same name, different companies and products. Estuate's RefactorIQ is a family of agentic services for large-scale enterprise upgrades and migrations, sold as consulting engagements. This RefactorIQ is an independent local-first tool that prices technical debt in hours and dollars — free to try in your browser today. See the full comparison.
I found another RefactorIQ on GitHub — which one is this?
Several unrelated projects share the name. The AI code-rewriting pipelines on GitHub generate refactored code with LLMs; this RefactorIQ never touches your code — it prices debt, ranks fixes 0–100, and plans the payoff, running fully offline. If you can price your backlog in dollars in a browser tab, you have the right one.
Try the whole thing before you install anything
The demo is the real app running in a browser tab — same debt pricing, same carrying-cost engine, same 0–100 scoring. Up to 10 debt items, free, and it never expires.
No install · no account · no card · your data stays in your browser
What you get in the demo
- Debt inventory with three-point (PERT) hour estimates
- The daily carrying-cost engine — see your $/day and $/yr burn
- 7-factor 0–100 priority score with a plain-language rationale
- 30/60/90-day payoff planner against your weekly capacity
- Trends, per-team and per-area cost analytics
What it doesn't do
- It doesn't need you to sign up before you use it
- It doesn't upload your debt items — they're in your browser's local storage
- It doesn't expire, and it doesn't ask for a card
- Ticket import and board-ready reports land with the desktop app
Get 50% off Solo Pro for 3 years
Solo Pro is $199/year. Beta members pay $99/year for their first 3 years, then the normal price. In exchange: a few details so we know who we're building for.
- $99/yr for 3 years, then $199/yr — cancel any time
- All Pro features: unlimited items, reports, GitHub import
- Plus the free browser demo, forever
Learn the math behind the app
Evergreen guides — same formulas RefactorIQ runs on.
Technical Debt: What It Is, What It Costs, and How to Pay It Down
Price debt in $/day with principal × APR ÷ 365, score it 0–100, and build a 30/60/90-day payoff plan.
RefactorIQ vs Estuate RefactorIQ: Which One Do You Need?
Same name, different companies. Enterprise migration services vs a local-first desktop app that prices your backlog — how to tell them apart.
If RefactorIQ saved you time, you can chip in
RefactorIQ is a one-person project. Donations cover the things a subscription doesn't: code signing certificates, the AppImage and Linux packaging, the blog, and keeping the free browser demo online.
PayPal
One-off or monthly, whatever you prefer. Every amount helps, and there is no minimum.
Donate via PayPal Donate via PayPalPrefer to send it straight from PayPal? Email mazigh.iminem@gmail.com from your PayPal account and it lands in the same inbox.
Not a donation kind of person?
Join the beta — 50% off Solo Pro for your first 3 years, and you get the desktop app the day it ships.
Or just tell us what's missing. The single most useful thing you can give back is a real backlog and an honest opinion of the number it produced.
Donations are voluntary and don't change your license, your price, or your support priority — everyone gets the same help.
50% off Solo Pro for 3 years
Leave your details, get the desktop app the day it ships at the beta price. Or try the free browser demo first — no install, no account.