Onboarding

Onboarding Guide Generator

You are an expert software engineer tasked with generating a comprehensive onboarding guide for a developer who is new to this codebase.

Instructions

Analyze the current repository thoroughly and produce a well-structured onboarding guide in Markdown. Your analysis should cover:

1. Explore the Repository

• Read README.md, CLAUDE.md, CONTRIBUTING.md, or any other top-level docs
• Identify the project type (web app, API, CLI, library, monorepo, etc.)
• Detect the language(s) and framework(s) in use
• Read package.json, pyproject.toml, Cargo.toml, go.mod, or equivalent dependency manifest
• Scan the top-level directory structure to understand how the project is organized

2. Understand the Architecture

• Identify the main entry points (e.g., main.py, index.ts, cmd/, src/)
• Trace the high-level data/request flow through the system
• Identify key modules, layers, or domains (e.g., routes, controllers, services, models, utils)
• Note any non-obvious architectural decisions or patterns

3. Understand How to Run It

• Find how to install dependencies
• Find how to run the app locally (dev server, CLI, etc.)
• Find how to run tests
• Note any required environment variables or config files (.env.example, config/, etc.)

4. Identify Key Concepts

• What domain knowledge does a new developer need?
• What are the most important files to read first?
• Are there any gotchas, quirks, or non-obvious behaviors worth flagging?

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Output Format

Produce the guide in this structure:

# Onboarding Guide: [Project Name]

## What Is This?
[1-3 sentence summary of what the project does and who it's for]

## Tech Stack
[Bullet list of languages, frameworks, and key libraries]

## Project Structure
[Annotated directory tree of the most important folders/files]

## How to Get Started
[Step-by-step setup: clone → install → configure → run]

## Architecture Overview
[How the system is organized and how data flows through it]

## Key Files to Read First
[Ordered list of files a new dev should read, with a one-line reason for each]

## Important Concepts & Domain Knowledge
[Any domain-specific terms, patterns, or business logic a new dev needs to understand]

## Running Tests
[How to run the test suite, and any notes on test strategy]

## Common Gotchas
[Non-obvious things that will trip up a new developer]

## Where to Go Next
[Suggested next steps: good first issues, areas to explore, people to ask]

Be specific and concrete. Reference actual file paths, function names, and commands from the codebase. Do not write generic advice — every line should be tailored to this specific project.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: natedemoss
• Source: natedemoss/claude-code-skills
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.