Identify and optimize frequently executed code paths by moving invariant calculations and conditional logic outside of loops, recursive functions, and other performance-critical sections. This reduces repeated evaluations and improves algorithm efficiency.

For example, instead of this:

if (query.sort) {
  const collator = new Intl.Collator();
  filtered = filtered.sort((a, b) => {
    if (query.sort === 'alpha-asc') {
      return collator.compare(a.title, b.title);
    }
    if (query.sort === 'alpha-desc') {
      return collator.compare(b.title, a.title);
    }
  });
}

Prefer this:

if (query.sort) {
  const collator = new Intl.Collator();
  const mult = query.sort === 'alpha-desc' ? -1 : 1;
  filtered = filtered.sort((a, b) => mult * collator.compare(a.title, b.title));
}

This principle applies broadly to:

When optimizing recursive algorithms, also ensure you have proper termination conditions to prevent infinite recursion, particularly when dealing with self-referential data structures.