Shelves Architecture & codebase
Understanding a codebase
582 rows from 287 repositories
Arriving at unfamiliar code and working out how it fits together.
What Understanding a codebase skills agree on
274 skill files read, by 307 of the 325 authors on this shelf whose files we hold, 2026-09-06
The middle one of the 39 measured here is ~1.4k tokens long, counted with cl100k_base
Counted by distinct author, so one author publishing three of these counts once. Where a claim sits in fewer files than authors, that is said: a claim held by forty authors across three files is one file people copied, not forty people who agreed. Near-identical wordings are grouped and the other wordings are shown, so the grouping is yours to check.
What they tell the agent to do
- Focus first session on one successful outcome34 of 307 in 15 filesalso worded as Focus the first session on one successful outcome; Focus the first session on one outcome
- Show progress and celebrate completions32 of 307 in 13 filesalso worded as Show advancement and celebrate completions
- Prefer interactive doing over tutorials32 of 307 in 13 filesalso worded as Prefer doing over showing or tutorials; Prefer interactive doing over passive tutorials
- Remove every step between signup and core value32 of 307 in 13 filesalso worded as Remove steps between signup and core value; Remove steps between signup and first value
- Keep checklists to 3-7 items ordered by value32 of 307 in 13 filesalso worded as Keep checklists to 3-7 value-ordered items; Keep checklists to three to seven items
- Read product marketing context before asking questions28 of 307 in 13 files
- Focus fixes on the biggest funnel drop-offs22 of 307 in 7 filesalso worded as Track funnel drop-off and fix the biggest drops; Focus fixes on the biggest funnel drops
- Define activation as the action most correlated with retention20 of 307 in 6 filesalso worded as Identify the action most correlated with retention; Define activation as the retention-correlating action
- Give one clear next action at every step19 of 307 in 8 filesalso worded as Give every flow a clear single next action; Give each screen one clear next action
- Limit guided tours to five dismissable steps15 of 307 in 6 filesalso worded as Cap guided tours at 3-5 dismissable steps; Limit tours to five dismissable steps
- Trace one request from entry to response14 of 307 in 8 filesalso worded as Trace one real request from entry to output
- Enhance an existing CLAUDE.md rather than replacing it13 of 307 in 7 filesalso worded as Read any existing CLAUDE.md before modifying it; Enhance existing CLAUDE.md rather than replacing it
- Run reconnaissance checks in parallel13 of 307 in 7 filesalso worded as Run the reconnaissance checks in parallel
- Understand product context and current state before recommending15 of 307 in 3 filesalso worded as Understand product context before recommending
- Flag conventions that cannot be confidently detected12 of 307 in 6 files
What they tell it not to do
- Don't repeat tours for returning users35 of 307 in 16 filesalso worded as Do not repeat tours for returning users; Repeating tours for returning users
- Don't duplicate in-app actions in email32 of 307 in 13 filesalso worded as Do not duplicate in-app actions in email; Don't duplicate in-app messaging in email
- Don't trap users in checklists32 of 307 in 13 filesalso worded as Do not trap users in the checklist; Don't trap users in the checklist
- Do not leave dead ends in the flow29 of 307 in 11 filesalso worded as Leave no dead ends in the flow; Don't leave dead ends in the flow
- Do not list every dependency13 of 307 in 7 filesalso worded as Don't list every dependency
- Do not copy the README13 of 307 in 7 filesalso worded as Don't copy the README; Do not copy the README verbatim
- Do not generate a CLAUDE.md longer than 100 lines13 of 307 in 7 filesalso worded as Do not generate a CLAUDE.md over 100 lines; do not generate CLAUDE.md over 100 lines
- Do not describe obvious directory names12 of 307 in 6 filesalso worded as Don't describe obvious directory names
- Do not guess undetectable conventions9 of 307 in 3 files
- Do not read every file8 of 307 in 7 filesalso worded as Do not read every file during reconnaissance; Don't read every file during reconnaissance
What they expect to be installed
- git35 of 307 in 29 files
- Grep26 of 307 in 19 files
- Glob22 of 307 in 16 files
- Read20 of 307 in 14 files
- AskUserQuestion15 of 307 in 13 files
- Mermaid11 of 307 in 9 files
- curl10 of 307
- Slack7 of 307 in 6 files
- python37 of 307
- Splunk7 of 307 in 4 files
What they ask it to produce
- Onboarding audit with prioritized recommendations32 of 307 in 14 filesalso worded as Onboarding audit with finding, impact, recommendation, priority; Onboarding audit with impact and priority
- Onboarding guide21 of 307 in 13 filesalso worded as Onboarding documentation; Principal-level onboarding guide
- Onboarding flow design with metrics plan17 of 307 in 8 filesalso worded as Onboarding flow design
- Metrics plan12 of 307 in 3 files
- Onboarding flow design with activation goal and steps12 of 307 in 3 filesalso worded as Step-by-step onboarding flow design
- CLAUDE.md11 of 307 in 6 filesalso worded as Starter CLAUDE.md; project CLAUDE.md
- Empty state copy10 of 307 in 2 filesalso worded as Empty state and tooltip copy
- CLAUDE.md written to the project root7 of 307 in 6 filesalso worded as CLAUDE.md written to project root; Starter CLAUDE.md at project root
When Understanding a codebase authors say to reach for one
The situations these authors wrote into their own files, counted out of the same 307 authors, with the skills that name each one
- User wants to optimize post-signup onboarding or activation25 of 307 in 10 files
- Onboarding
- Onboarding cro
- Marketing onboarding
- and 17 more on this shelf
- User asks to understand the codebase20 of 307 in 12 files
- Wiki onboarding
- Codebase onboarding
- and 16 more on this shelf
- User mentions onboarding flow, empty states, or aha moment19 of 307 in 8 files
- Onboarding cro
- and 6 more on this shelf
- User mentions activation rate or time to value17 of 307 in 5 files
- Onboarding
- Onboarding cro
- Marketing onboarding
- and 12 more on this shelf
- Users sign up but are not sticking around15 of 307 in 5 files
- Onboarding
- Onboarding cro
- Marketing onboarding
- and 15 more on this shelf
- User asks to be onboarded or walked through the repo14 of 307 in 8 files
- Codebase onboarding
- and 4 more on this shelf
- User asks for onboarding or getting-started docs14 of 307 in 12 files
- Wiki onboarding
- Onboarding generator
- Onboarding kit generator
- and 12 more on this shelf
- User asks to generate a CLAUDE.md13 of 307 in 7 files
- Codebase onboarding
- and 4 more on this shelf
How Understanding a codebase skills are built
499 skill directories by 265 authors, read from their repositories’ own file trees 2026-08-05
The middle bundle among those shipping files is 2 files, 7.7 KB beside SKILL.md
Counted by distinct author, same as above, so one author publishing forty template copies counts once. SKILL.md itself is not counted as a file, so a single-file skill is one where that file is the whole skill.
The shape
- SKILL.md is the whole skill123 of 265 authors, 261 of 499 skills
- files ship beside it142 of 265 authors, 238 of 499 skills
- executable scripts ship inside37 of 265 authors, 49 of 499 skills
The folders they converge on
- references/73 of 265 authors, 120 of 499 skills
- scripts/31 of 265 authors, 43 of 499 skills
- agents/27 of 265 authors, 45 of 499 skills
- evals/20 of 265 authors, 24 of 499 skills
- assets/18 of 265 authors, 18 of 499 skills
- examples/7 of 265 authors, 7 of 499 skills
stevenflanagan1/social-ai-team/skills/brand-onboarding Skill
no license184★ repoClaude Code skills for social media — a complete AI social team for SMBs. Brand setup, content calendar, captions, creative, and performance review.
alpacahq/alpaca-skills/skills/broker-api/account-onboarding Skill
108★ repoAgent skills for Alpaca's Trading API and Broker API: drop-in SKILL.md files for AI coding assistants
skyil7/agent-onboarding Skill
9★Make your repository AI-ready with single skill run
Huawei cloud account onboarding
ontology-of-everything/SemanticSkills/skills/huawei-cloud-account-onboarding Skill
8★ repoSemantic agent skills for cloud operations — open SKILL.md packages for Claude Code, Cursor, Codex CLI. Includes huawei-cloud-billing-scout (read-only BSS/KooCLI billing).
mrigankad/SRE-CLI Skill
no license2★Claude Code skill that turns an AI assistant into a structured, ethics-gated reverse-engineering analyst.
ndpvt-web/gtm-reverse-engineer Skill
2★Claude Code skill for competitor GTM analysis — modular channel teardowns and copy/adapt/skip playbooks for any company
remsky/repoglyph-py/plugin/skills/repoglyph Skill
2★ repoLocal OKF bundle generator: details file/line churn, change-coupling, and generates a banner for at-a-glance structural fingerprints.
apostl-dev/apostl-skills/skills/sdk-onboarding-audit Skill
2★ repoPublic Apostl agent skills for SDK onboarding audits and developer journey verification
BruceL017/skill-reverse-engineer/skill-reverse-engineer Skill
2★ repoReverse-engineer, audit, and improve AI agent skills
knitli/toolshed/plugins/codeweaver/agents/onboarding Skill
1★ repoCurated Claude Code plugins by Knitli
sarveshtalele/reverse-engineering-skill/skill-packages/01-claude-code-skill/.claude/skills/reverse-engineer Skill
no license1★ repoYou can reverse engineer any open source project using public github repo link in Claude code or Github Copilot
nimrodfisher/data-context-layer-studio/.claude/skills/context-onboarding Skill
1★ repoTurn your data team's tribal knowledge into a governed context skill your AI agents (Claude, Cursor) load before answering data questions. Local-first, no telemetry.
yumeiriowl/code-learn-skill/skills/code-walkthrough Skill
1★ repoTwo Agent Skills that make code understandable: turn a concept into staged, runnable learning code — or turn source code into a self-contained, annotated HTML walkthrough.
Agent-Hellboy/codebase-onboarding-check Skill
1★LM20230311/repo-confidence/skills/repository-onboarding-coach Skill
1★ repoAI agent skills and evidence-backed workflows for understanding unfamiliar codebases, assessing change impact, and growing developers into confident maintainers.
crustacean-dev/knowledge-skills/skills/bootstrap Skill
0★ repoSpec-driven development plugin for Claude Code
SkillMedev/freelancer-consultant-os/skills/client-onboarding-system Skill
0★ repoFor solo freelancers: position, productize, price, and run client work like a business.
chokwinlee/repo-context/skills/repo-context Skill
0★ repoPortable skill for building progressive repo context packs for code agents
peizh/refactor-legacy-code Skill
0★Agent skill for safe legacy-code refactoring and maintenance workflows
yusoufu/reverse-engineer-a-skill Skill
0★Public agent skill for reverse engineering reusable patterns from skills, workflows, repos, and tools.
babiskon/kickoff/kickoff/skills/kickoff Skill
0★ repoClaude Code skill: definition-of-done gate, structured intake, and CLAUDE.md generation for new and existing projects
hive-intel/hive-skills/skills/hive-build-onboarding Skill
0★ repoInstallable Hive Intelligence agent skills for crypto MCP setup, discovery, and research workflows.
peterphoenix/deep-reasoning/skills/codebase-map Skill
0★ repoAgent skills that make smaller coding-agent models reason like a frontier model: interrogate, decompose, compete candidates, adversarial self-review, verify, insight pass. Plus persistent codebase memory.
meo9805/mininglamp-oss-octo-skills/multica-squad-onboarding Skill
0★ repo[Mirror/Mininglamp-OSS] Mininglamp-OSS/octo-skills — OpenClaw / octo AgentSkills for Mininglamp tooling
1GMedia/attract-reverse-engineer/skills/attract-reverse-engineer Skill
0★ repoEvidence-driven agent skill for authorized software reverse engineering, technical claim audits, and clean-room reconstruction.
LovRanRan/mcp-ast-explorer/io.github.LovRanRan/mcp-ast-explorer MCP server
0★ repoPython symbol exploration for codebase onboarding agents.
gustavo-meilus/aiboarding/skills/audit-agent-onboarding Skill
2★ repoKeep AGENTS.md alive: generate, compress, audit, and update AI-agent onboarding for Claude Code, Codex, Copilot, Cursor, and OpenCode.
dcs-soni/skills/codebase-onboarding Skill
1★ repoA collection of custom Claude Code Skills to supercharge your development workflow.
jakebrownscombe/science-lab-AI-framework/setup Skill
1★ repoA customizable framework for using LLMs in scientific workflows.
agentpub-io/skill/skills/agentpub-onboarding Skill
1★ repoagentpub agent skills — publish, review, blueprints, and onboarding for agentpub.io
Smarter Weather Developer Onboarding
smarterweather/developer/io.github.smarterweather/onboarding MCP server
1★ repoAgent-first onboarding to Smarter Weather: plans, docs, signup, API keys, MCP config, billing.
kamkate/dev-team-maturity-performance-skills/plugins/maturity-onboarding/skills/maturity-onboarding Skill
0★ repoGoverned Claude Agent Skills for engineering delivery maturity analysis: deterministic KPIs, rule-based pattern detection, and catalog-only intervention recommendations from Jira data.
sekachev/codex-new-agent-skill/codex-new-agent/assets/agent-template/.agents/skills/onboarding Skill
0★ repoCreate adaptive Codex-native agents with memory, onboarding, hooks, and dreaming.
yuri-semenenko/ai-engineering-workspace/claude-code/.claude/skills/codebase-map Skill
0★ repoOne engineering workflow across Claude Code, Codex, Copilot, and Gemini CLI. A portable persona canon, process skills, and safety guardrails, kept in sync by design.
nexu-io/open-design/design-templates/hr-onboarding Skill
85,608★ repo🎨 The open-source Claude Design alternative. 🖥️ Local-first desktop app. 🖼️ Your coding agent becomes the design engine: prototypes, landing pages, dashboards, slides, images & video — real files, HTML/PDF/PPTX/MP4 export. 🤖 Claude Code / Codex / Cursor / Gemini / OpenCode / Qwen & 20+ CLIs via BYOK.
nexu-io/open-design/design-templates/mobile-onboarding Skill
85,608★ repo🎨 The open-source Claude Design alternative. 🖥️ Local-first desktop app. 🖼️ Your coding agent becomes the design engine: prototypes, landing pages, dashboards, slides, images & video — real files, HTML/PDF/PPTX/MP4 export. 🤖 Claude Code / Codex / Cursor / Gemini / OpenCode / Qwen & 20+ CLIs via BYOK.
nexu-io/open-design/plugins/_official/examples/hr-onboarding Skill
85,608★ repo🎨 The open-source Claude Design alternative. 🖥️ Local-first desktop app. 🖼️ Your coding agent becomes the design engine: prototypes, landing pages, dashboards, slides, images & video — real files, HTML/PDF/PPTX/MP4 export. 🤖 Claude Code / Codex / Cursor / Gemini / OpenCode / Qwen & 20+ CLIs via BYOK.
nexu-io/open-design/plugins/_official/examples/mobile-onboarding Skill
85,608★ repo🎨 The open-source Claude Design alternative. 🖥️ Local-first desktop app. 🖼️ Your coding agent becomes the design engine: prototypes, landing pages, dashboards, slides, images & video — real files, HTML/PDF/PPTX/MP4 export. 🤖 Claude Code / Codex / Cursor / Gemini / OpenCode / Qwen & 20+ CLIs via BYOK.
sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/plugins/agentic-awesome-skills-claude/skills/api-onboarding Skill
44,658★ repoAAS Core is the local, agent-first control plane for complete catalog discovery, agent-owned selection, stack validation, and planning, backed by 1,987+ agentic skills. Includes CLI, local MCP, catalog, plugins, and Workbench.
sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/plugins/agentic-awesome-skills-claude/skills/developer-onboarding Skill
44,658★ repoAAS Core is the local, agent-first control plane for complete catalog discovery, agent-owned selection, stack validation, and planning, backed by 1,987+ agentic skills. Includes CLI, local MCP, catalog, plugins, and Workbench.
sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/plugins/agentic-awesome-skills-claude/skills/onboarding-cro Skill
44,658★ repoAAS Core is the local, agent-first control plane for complete catalog discovery, agent-owned selection, stack validation, and planning, backed by 1,987+ agentic skills. Includes CLI, local MCP, catalog, plugins, and Workbench.
sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/plugins/agentic-awesome-skills-claude/skills/onboarding-psychologist Skill
44,658★ repoAAS Core is the local, agent-first control plane for complete catalog discovery, agent-owned selection, stack validation, and planning, backed by 1,987+ agentic skills. Includes CLI, local MCP, catalog, plugins, and Workbench.
sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/plugins/agentic-awesome-skills-claude/skills/onboarding Skill
44,658★ repoAAS Core is the local, agent-first control plane for complete catalog discovery, agent-owned selection, stack validation, and planning, backed by 1,987+ agentic skills. Includes CLI, local MCP, catalog, plugins, and Workbench.
sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/plugins/agentic-awesome-skills-claude/skills/reverse-engineer Skill
44,658★ repoAAS Core is the local, agent-first control plane for complete catalog discovery, agent-owned selection, stack validation, and planning, backed by 1,987+ agentic skills. Includes CLI, local MCP, catalog, plugins, and Workbench.
sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/plugins/agentic-awesome-skills-claude/skills/wiki-onboarding Skill
44,658★ repoAAS Core is the local, agent-first control plane for complete catalog discovery, agent-owned selection, stack validation, and planning, backed by 1,987+ agentic skills. Includes CLI, local MCP, catalog, plugins, and Workbench.
sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/plugins/agentic-awesome-skills/skills/api-onboarding Skill
44,658★ repoAAS Core is the local, agent-first control plane for complete catalog discovery, agent-owned selection, stack validation, and planning, backed by 1,987+ agentic skills. Includes CLI, local MCP, catalog, plugins, and Workbench.
sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/plugins/agentic-awesome-skills/skills/developer-onboarding Skill
44,658★ repoAAS Core is the local, agent-first control plane for complete catalog discovery, agent-owned selection, stack validation, and planning, backed by 1,987+ agentic skills. Includes CLI, local MCP, catalog, plugins, and Workbench.
sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/plugins/agentic-awesome-skills/skills/onboarding-cro Skill
44,658★ repoAAS Core is the local, agent-first control plane for complete catalog discovery, agent-owned selection, stack validation, and planning, backed by 1,987+ agentic skills. Includes CLI, local MCP, catalog, plugins, and Workbench.
sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/plugins/agentic-awesome-skills/skills/onboarding-psychologist Skill
44,658★ repoAAS Core is the local, agent-first control plane for complete catalog discovery, agent-owned selection, stack validation, and planning, backed by 1,987+ agentic skills. Includes CLI, local MCP, catalog, plugins, and Workbench.
sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/plugins/agentic-awesome-skills/skills/onboarding Skill
44,658★ repoAAS Core is the local, agent-first control plane for complete catalog discovery, agent-owned selection, stack validation, and planning, backed by 1,987+ agentic skills. Includes CLI, local MCP, catalog, plugins, and Workbench.
sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/plugins/agentic-awesome-skills/skills/reverse-engineer Skill
44,658★ repoAAS Core is the local, agent-first control plane for complete catalog discovery, agent-owned selection, stack validation, and planning, backed by 1,987+ agentic skills. Includes CLI, local MCP, catalog, plugins, and Workbench.
sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/plugins/agentic-awesome-skills/skills/wiki-onboarding Skill
44,658★ repoAAS Core is the local, agent-first control plane for complete catalog discovery, agent-owned selection, stack validation, and planning, backed by 1,987+ agentic skills. Includes CLI, local MCP, catalog, plugins, and Workbench.
sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/skills/api-onboarding Skill
44,658★ repoAAS Core is the local, agent-first control plane for complete catalog discovery, agent-owned selection, stack validation, and planning, backed by 1,987+ agentic skills. Includes CLI, local MCP, catalog, plugins, and Workbench.
sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/skills/developer-onboarding Skill
44,658★ repoAAS Core is the local, agent-first control plane for complete catalog discovery, agent-owned selection, stack validation, and planning, backed by 1,987+ agentic skills. Includes CLI, local MCP, catalog, plugins, and Workbench.
sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/skills/onboarding-cro Skill
44,658★ repoAAS Core is the local, agent-first control plane for complete catalog discovery, agent-owned selection, stack validation, and planning, backed by 1,987+ agentic skills. Includes CLI, local MCP, catalog, plugins, and Workbench.
sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/skills/onboarding-psychologist Skill
44,658★ repoAAS Core is the local, agent-first control plane for complete catalog discovery, agent-owned selection, stack validation, and planning, backed by 1,987+ agentic skills. Includes CLI, local MCP, catalog, plugins, and Workbench.
sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/skills/onboarding Skill
44,658★ repoAAS Core is the local, agent-first control plane for complete catalog discovery, agent-owned selection, stack validation, and planning, backed by 1,987+ agentic skills. Includes CLI, local MCP, catalog, plugins, and Workbench.
sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/skills/reverse-engineer Skill
44,658★ repoAAS Core is the local, agent-first control plane for complete catalog discovery, agent-owned selection, stack validation, and planning, backed by 1,987+ agentic skills. Includes CLI, local MCP, catalog, plugins, and Workbench.
sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills/skills/wiki-onboarding Skill
44,658★ repoAAS Core is the local, agent-first control plane for complete catalog discovery, agent-owned selection, stack validation, and planning, backed by 1,987+ agentic skills. Includes CLI, local MCP, catalog, plugins, and Workbench.
github/awesome-copilot/skills/gtm-enterprise-onboarding Skill
37,897★ repoCommunity-contributed instructions, agents, skills, and configurations to help you make the most of GitHub Copilot.