Can AI coding tools work on large legacy codebases?
Yes, with scoping. The failure mode is not code quality but blast radius: an unscoped change touching files nobody expected. Naming the files a task may modify converts review into a question with an objective answer.
From Using AI on an existing codebase without breaking it, published 9 August 2026. That article is where the reasoning behind this answer is set out, including what it does not cover.