theater-detection-auditlisted

# Theater Detection Audit This skill helps identify and eliminate "theater" in codebases, which refers to code that appears to work but uses fake data, mock responses, stub implementations, or other non-production placeholders. Theater is common during rapid development but must be systematically removed before production deployment. This skill provides a comprehensive audit and completion workflow. ## When to Use This Skill Use the theater-detection-audit skill when preparing code for production deployment and need to ensure all mocks are replaced, when taking over a codebase and want to understand what is real versus placeholder, when code reviews reveal inconsistent data or suspicious simplicity, or after rapid prototyping phases where shortcuts were taken for speed. The skill is particularly valuable before major releases, during code quality initiatives, or when hardening systems for production use. ## Understanding Code Theater Code theater takes many forms, all of which create the illusion of functionality without the substance. Recognizing these patterns is the first step in systematic elimination. **Mock Data and Hardcoded Responses**: Code that returns fixed data instead of fetching from databases, APIs, or user input represents one of the most common forms of theater. This might look like a function that always returns the same user object, an API client that returns sample JSON instead of making real requests, or database queries that return hardcoded arrays