Ase code explain
Agentic Software Engineering (ASE)
npx -y skills add rse/ase --skill ase-code-explainAssembled from the repository path, not quoted from the project. Check it against their README if it does not work.
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Explains code with WHAT, WHY, ANALOGY, DIAGRAM, CRUXES, and GOTCHAS. Use when you want to know how code works or when the user asks "how does this work?"
SKILL.md
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@${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-control.md @${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-skill.md @${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../meta/ase-getopt.md
<purpose name="ase-code-explain"> Explain Source Code </purpose> <expand name="getopt" arg1="ase-code-explain"> $ARGUMENTS </expand> <objective> *Analyze* the source code of <getopt-arguments/>, and its directly related source code and *explain* it in a *brief*, *standardized*, and *concise* way. </objective> <flow>- <step id="STEP 1: Investigate Code Base"> Investigate the code. If the code base is large, you *MUST* use the `Agent` tool (not inline work) to create multiple sub-agents to split the investigation task into appropriate chunks. </step>
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<step id="STEP 2: WHAT and WHY">
**Explain the WHAT and WHY**.
First, explain WHAT the code does (functionality). Second, explain WHY the code does it (rationale).
Keep your explanations brief and concise.
<if condition="<ase-project-boxing/> is equal `black`">The project source artifacts are classified as a black box, so the user wants only the minimal surface explanation. Output only the WHAT block (omit the WHY block) with the following <template/>:
<template> <ase-tpl-bullet-normal/> **WHAT** (You should know what): - [...] - [...] - [...] </template> </if> <else>Output the result with the following <template/>:
<template> <ase-tpl-bullet-normal/> **WHAT** (You should know what): - [...] - [...] - [...]<ase-tpl-bullet-normal/> WHY (You should know why):
- [...]
- [...]
- [...] </template>
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<step id="STEP 3: ANALOGY and DIAGRAM">
<if condition="<ase-project-boxing/> is equal `black`">
The project source artifacts are classified as a black box, so deeper elaboration is not wanted. Skip this STEP 3 and the following STEP 4 entirely: do not output any ANALOGY, DIAGRAM, CRUXES, or GOTCHAS, and do not dispatch any diagram rendering.
</if>Give insights with ANALOGY and DIAGRAM.
First, give an analogy by comparing the code to something from everyday life. How can I understand this by something I already know? Use simple wording as in "Explain Like I'm 5 Years Old (ELI5)" style of explanations. For very complex concepts, use multiple analogies.
Second, draw a diagram to show the control or data flow, code or data structure, or code or data relationships. What gives the best overall overview of the code? Build a Mermaid specification <mermaid-spec/>, choosing the Mermaid diagram type per intent:
classDiagramfor class/method structure,sequenceDiagramfor actor/message flow, orflowchart TBfor boxes-and-lines component layouts. Then dispatch the rendering to thease-meta-diagramsub-agent by calling the toolAgent(description: "Diagram Rendering", subagent_type: "ase:ase-meta-diagram", prompt: <mermaid-spec/>, run_in_background: false)and reproduce its returned fenced code block verbatim in the response text. Do not hand-draw.Keep your explanation brief and concise. Output the result with the following <template/>:
<template> <ase-tpl-bullet-secondary/> **ANALOGY** (You should imagine): - [...] - [...] - [...]<ase-tpl-bullet-secondary/> DIAGRAM (You should grasp): [...] </template> </step>
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<step id="STEP 4: CRUXES and GOTCHAS">
**Highlight CRUXES and GOTCHAS**.
First, tell what are the cruxes of the code. Is there something one should really notice?
Second, tell what are the gotchas of the code. Is there something one could really stumble over?
Keep your explanation brief and concise. Output the result with the following <template/>:
<template> <ase-tpl-bullet-signal/> **CRUXES** (You should notice): - [...] - [...] - [...]<ase-tpl-bullet-signal/> GOTCHAS (You should not stumble over):
- [...]
- [...]
- [...] </template>