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Cohesion analyzer reference

The cohesion analyzer computes LCOM-HS (Henderson-Sellers) and variable sharing ratio metrics to identify files and modules with low internal cohesion.

For the conceptual model — what LCOM-HS measures and how to read the scores — see Understanding cohesion metrics. To run it, see the Quick start.

Configuration options

The cohesion analyzer uses the UAST directly and has no analyzer-specific configuration options.

Option Type Default Description
(none) -- -- Uses UAST; no analyzer-specific config

Example output

╭──────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│                   COHESION                    │
│               Score: 7/10                     │
│  Good cohesion - functions have reasonable    │
│  focus                                        │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────╯

Key Metrics
  Total Functions ....... 5
  LCOM Score ............ 0.30
  Cohesion Score ........ 0.70
  Avg Cohesion .......... 0.65

Distribution
  Excellent (>0.6) ..... 40%  (2)
  Good (0.4-0.6) ....... 20%  (1)
  Fair (0.3-0.4) ....... 20%  (1)
  Poor (<0.3) .......... 20%  (1)

Issues (sorted worst-first)
  isolatedHelper    0.10  Poor
  utilFunction      0.35  Fair
  parseInput        0.45  Good

{
  "function_cohesion": [
    {
      "name": "isolatedHelper",
      "cohesion": 0.1,
      "quality_level": "Poor"
    },
    {
      "name": "utilFunction",
      "cohesion": 0.35,
      "quality_level": "Fair"
    },
    {
      "name": "parseInput",
      "cohesion": 0.45,
      "quality_level": "Good"
    },
    {
      "name": "processData",
      "cohesion": 0.8,
      "quality_level": "Excellent"
    },
    {
      "name": "handleRequest",
      "cohesion": 0.9,
      "quality_level": "Excellent"
    }
  ],
  "distribution": {
    "excellent": 2,
    "good": 1,
    "fair": 1,
    "poor": 1
  },
  "low_cohesion_functions": [
    {
      "name": "isolatedHelper",
      "cohesion": 0.1,
      "risk_level": "HIGH",
      "recommendation": "Consider splitting into multiple focused functions"
    },
    {
      "name": "utilFunction",
      "cohesion": 0.35,
      "risk_level": "MEDIUM",
      "recommendation": "Review function responsibilities for possible separation"
    }
  ],
  "aggregate": {
    "total_functions": 5,
    "lcom": 0.3,
    "lcom_variant": "LCOM-HS (Henderson-Sellers)",
    "cohesion_score": 0.7,
    "function_cohesion": 0.52,
    "health_score": 70,
    "message": "Good cohesion - functions have reasonable focus"
  }
}

The HTML plot output includes two charts:

  1. Function Cohesion Scores — A bar chart showing per-function cohesion scores, sorted worst-first. Color-coded: green (≥0.6), yellow (0.4–0.6), orange (0.3–0.4), red (<0.3). Includes reference lines at threshold boundaries.

  2. Cohesion Distribution — A pie chart showing the distribution of functions across quality categories (Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor).

See also