Import alias usage consistency

Mixed import styles — some files using @/components/ui/button, others using ../../../components/ui/button — are a direct maintainability tax. Relative imports break silently when a file moves; alias imports are path-independent and survive directory reorganization. ISO 25010 maintainability flags this as a modifiability defect: every refactor that moves a file must also audit every relative import pointing at it. AI-generated code produces this drift because each session tends to copy the import style from whatever file it last read, producing a codebase where convention depends on which file the AI happened to open first.

Set alias imports as the standard and convert relative parent imports with a one-time codemod. The ESLint rule import/no-relative-parent-imports prevents backsliding.

// Bad: breaks if src/features/auth/LoginForm.tsx moves
import { Button } from '../../../components/ui/button'

// Good: survives any directory reorganization
import { Button } from '@/components/ui/button'

Run npx @antfu/ni && npx tsr or sed -i to bulk-convert, then add to .eslintrc:

{ "rules": { "import/no-relative-parent-imports": "error" } }

Verify tsconfig.json has "paths": { "@/*": ["./src/*"] } and baseUrl set so the alias resolves correctly at build time.

• ID: ai-slop-code-drift.convention-drift.import-alias-consistency

• Severity: low

• What to look for: Read tsconfig.json compilerOptions.paths to confirm at least one alias is defined (e.g., @/*). If aliases are defined, sample all source files for cross-directory imports (imports that traverse .. OR use an alias). For each cross-directory import, classify it as alias-style (starts with a tsconfig paths prefix like @/) or relative-style (starts with ../). Same-directory imports (./sibling) are EXCLUDED — they always use relative and are not drift. Count all and compute percentages.

• Pass criteria: Of all cross-directory imports, at least 80% use the same style (either all alias OR all relative). Report even on pass: "Dominant import style: [alias/relative] ([X]% of [Y] cross-directory imports)."

• Fail criteria: Neither style is at least 80% of cross-directory imports.

• Skip (N/A) when: tsconfig.json does not define compilerOptions.paths (no alias system to compare against).

• Detail on fail: "Mixed import styles: alias 60% (45 imports), relative 40% (30 imports). Pick one and convert the rest."

• Remediation: Mixed import styles make refactoring harder — moving a file with relative imports breaks everything; aliases are stable. Pick alias-style as the default:

  // Bad: relative import that breaks if the file moves
  import { Button } from '../../../components/ui/button'
  
  // Good: alias import that survives moves
  import { Button } from '@/components/ui/button'
  

  ESLint rule import/no-relative-parent-imports enforces this automatically.