A Year of Cleanup: How Street Source Rebuilt Its Foundation for the Future

baha

baha

Published on Dec 22, 2025

Every platform carries a history inside its codebase—old ideas, abandoned experiments, and features that once made sense but slowly fell out of alignment with where the product was heading. In 2025, Street Source finally faced that history head-on.

This was a year of modernization, simplification, and preparing the foundation for everything coming next. Across the codebase, from backend architecture to database schema to developer tooling, the past year has been dedicated to one major theme:

Make Street Source faster to build on, easier to maintain, and cleaner than it has ever been.

Below is a breakdown of the impact this cleanup had on the project and why it matters.


2025 Code Cleanup Recap: Building a Stronger Foundation

This year wasn’t just about writing new features. It was about making sure the platform was stable, consistent, and forward-ready. And the numbers tell the story.


Overall Impact

This year's cleanup was massive.

  • 174 commits dedicated to cleanup, refactoring, and architectural improvements

  • 1,159 files changed

  • 145,497 lines removed and 63,102 added

  • 82,395 net lines of code deleted — meaning 56% more code removed than added

Most refactor projects add weight.
This one made Street Source significantly leaner.


Removing Dead Features & Legacy Files

Street Source has existed for years, collecting leftover features and abandoned experiments. In 2025, those old layers were finally peeled back.

  • 630 files deleted

  • 244 code files removed

  • 136 entity files deleted, including:

    • Old admin assets

    • Backup entity files

Removing this old code doesn’t just clean things up — it reduces future bugs, shortens onboarding time, and clears the path for new systems to be built cleanly.


Strengthening Testing & Quality Assurance

A platform is only as stable as its tests.

In 2025 Street Source moved from minimal coverage to a real testing foundation:

  • 58 new test files added

  • 71 total test files now in the codebase

  • Unit test improvements include:

    • JSON-LD builders

    • UI components

    • Controllers

  • Integration tests now cover:

    • All Controllers!

  • Added admin controller testing

These tests mean future features won’t sink under unexpected edge cases.


Static Analysis & Code Quality

Static analysis was one of the biggest contributors to stability this year.

  • Level 3 is now enforced

  • 11 commits focused entirely on static analysis fixes

  • Added configuration, tooling and documentation

Combined, these changes catch errors before they become bugs — and encourage clean, predictable code for every new contribution.


Database Cleanup & Schema Modernization

The database accumulated years of unused tables and outdated entity mappings. This year, that clutter was finally removed.

  • 24 database migrations created in 2025

  • Unused tables dropped

  • Schema brought in line with current entities

  • Migrations span March → October 2025

These changes reduce query complexity and make the system easier to reason about moving forward.


Key Cleanup Wins

A few standout improvements from the year:

  • Removed half-baked, abandoned features

  • Eliminated backup and duplicate entity files

  • Removed outdated admin asset system

  • Fully replaced old admin UI

  • Fixed deprecated functionality

  • Improved SEO with a full JSON-LD structured data rewrite

This wasn’t cosmetic — it was structural, paving the way for new features and growth.


Why This All Matters

A cleaner codebase is more than a technical achievement. It’s the foundation for everything that comes next.

  • Faster development

  • Fewer regressions

  • Easier onboarding

  • Clearer architecture

  • More predictable releases

  • Better SEO and performance

  • A stable platform for future growth

Street Source is now positioned for a big leap in 2026 — including expanded Rides features, new Events tools, better Galleries, and deeper storytelling for automotive enthusiasts.

This blog has been viewed 197 times.

Related Articles

Blog Image

Saying Goodbye to My Homemade Bug Tracker

After 10 years, I finally removed my homemade bug tracker from Street Source. It served me well, but tools like Jira do it better. Time to move forwar...

Read More
Blog Image

Goodbye Gray, Hello Color: A Fresh Avatar Component for Street Source

If you’ve ever joined a forum and been greeted by a sea of identical gray heads, you know the vibe: bland and a little dated. As part of my ongoing re...

Read More
Blog Image

Farewell to the Calculators: Cleaning Up the Clutter

The old Calculators feature once helped builders crunch numbers for their custom projects — air pressure, gear ratios, tire sizes, and more. But as th...

Read More
Blog Image

Saying Goodbye to the Old Newsletter

Before email marketing tools were everywhere, I built a custom newsletter system for Street Source — and over the years, I sent fewer than 15 of them....

Read More