# What is a Codemod?

A codemod is a script that makes programmatic transformations on your codebase by traversing the
[AST](https://www.codeshiftcommunity.com/docs/understanding-asts), identifying patterns, and making
prescribed changes. This greatly decreases opportunities for error and reduces the number of manual
updates, which allows you to focus on changes that need your attention. **We highly recommend you
use the codemod for these reasons.**

If you're new to running codemods or if it's been a minute since you've used one, there are a few
things you'll want to keep in mind.

- Our codemods are meant to be run sequentially. For example, if you're using v8 of Canvas Kit,
  you'll need to run the v9 codemod before you run v10 and so on.
- The codemod will update your code to be compatible with the specified version, but it will **not**
  remove outdated dependencies or upgrade dependencies to the latest version. You'll need to upgrade
  dependencies on your own.
  - We recommend upgrading dependencies before running the codemod.
  - Always review your `package.json` files to make sure your dependency versions look correct.
- The codemod will not handle every breaking change in v13. You will likely need to make some manual
  changes to be compatible. Use our Upgrade Guide as a checklist.
- Codemods are not bulletproof.
  - Conduct a thorough PR and QA review of all changes to ensure no regressions were introduced.
  - As a safety precaution, we recommend committing the changes from the codemod as a single
    isolated commit (separate from other changes) so you can roll back more easily if necessary.

We're here to help! Automatic changes to your codebase can feel scary. You can always reach out to
our team. We'd be very happy to walk you through the process to set you up for success.

## Running a Codemod

### Instructions

The easiest way to run our codemod is to use `npx` in your terminal.

```sh
npx @workday/canvas-kit-codemod v${canvasKitMajorVersionNumber} [path]
```

Be sure to provide specific directories that need to be updated via the `[path]` argument. This
decreases the amount of AST the codemod needs to traverse and reduces the chances of the script
having an error. For example, if your source code lives in `src/`, use `src/` as your `[path]`. Or,
if you have a monorepo with three packages using Canvas Kit, provide those specific packages as your
`[path]`.

Alternatively, if you're unable to run the codemod successfully using `npx`, you can install the
codemod package as a dev dependency, run it with `yarn`, and then remove the package after you're
finished.

```sh
yarn add @workday/canvas-kit-codemod --dev
yarn canvas-kit-codemod v${canvasKitMajorVersion} [path]
yarn remove @workday/canvas-kit-codemod
```

> **Note**: The codemod only works on `.js`, `.jsx`, `.ts`, and `.tsx` files. You'll need to
> manually edit other file types (`.json`, `.mdx`, `.md`, etc.). You may need to run your linter
> after executing the codemod, as its resulting formatting (spacing, quotes, etc.) may not match
> your project conventions.