Onboard

Project Onboarding

Analyze the codebase and produce a guide that answers: "I just cloned this repo. What do I need to know?"

Step 1: Project Overview

Determine from the codebase:

• What is this? (product, library, service, CLI tool, etc.)
• Who uses it? (end users, other developers, internal teams)
• What language/framework? (detect from files, config, dependencies)
• How is it structured? (monorepo, single app, microservices)

Step 2: Key File Map

Identify the most important files/directories:

ENTRY POINTS:
  [file] - [what starts here]

CONFIGURATION:
  [file] - [what it configures]

CORE LOGIC:
  [directory/file] - [what it does]

DATA LAYER:
  [directory/file] - [storage, schemas, migrations]

TESTS:
  [directory] - [test structure]

BUILD / DEPLOY:
  [file] - [how it builds/deploys]

Step 3: Architecture Snapshot

[Component A] → [Component B] → [Component C]
                      ↓
               [Data Store]

• What are the major components?
• How do they communicate?
• Where does data flow?
• What are the external dependencies?

Step 4: Common Workflows

"I want to add a new feature"

1. Where to create files
2. What patterns to follow (look at existing examples)
3. How to test
4. How to submit for review

"I want to fix a bug"

1. How to reproduce (run locally, logs)
2. Where to look (key modules, common sources of bugs)
3. How to verify the fix

"I want to understand a feature"

1. Start at [entry point]
2. Follow the call chain through [key files]
3. Data is stored in [data layer]

Step 5: Gotchas

Things that aren't obvious from reading the code:

• Non-obvious environment requirements
• Implicit dependencies between modules
• Known quirks or workarounds
• "Don't touch this because..." warnings
• Patterns that look wrong but are intentional

Output Format

# [Project Name] - Onboarding Guide

## What Is This
[1-2 sentences]

## Quick Start
[Exact commands to clone, install, run, test]

## Architecture
[Diagram + brief explanation]

## Key Files
[Table of important files and what they do]

## Common Tasks
[Step-by-step for typical workflows]

## Gotchas
[Non-obvious things to know]

Source & license

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

• Author: pvnarp
• Source: pvnarp/agent-skills
• License: MIT

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