Codebase Onboarding
Analyze a codebase and generate onboarding documentation for engineers, tech leads, and contractors. It uses a script to gather repository facts and a template to produce audience-aware docs.
✨ What it does
- Architecture and stack discovery from repository signals
- Key file and config inventory for new contributors
- Local setup and common-task guidance generation
- Audience-aware documentation framing
- Debugging and contribution checklist scaffolding
🎯 When to use it
- Onboarding a new team member or contractor
- Rebuilding stale project docs after large refactors
- Preparing internal handoff documentation
- Creating a standardized onboarding packet for services
🚀 How to use
Trigger by asking to onboard someone to a codebase or generate onboarding docs. Run the analyzer script on the repo, then fill the template. Example prompts:
Generate onboarding documentation for the repo at /path/to/repo for a new junior engineer.
Create a tech-lead briefing for the codebase in ./my-project.
📄 Output: Onboarding documentation files based on the template, tailored to the audience.
📦 Add this skill to Claude Code
# 1. Get the skills repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills /tmp/claude-skills
# 2. Copy this skill into your project (or ~/.claude/skills for all projects)
mkdir -p .claude/skills
cp -r /tmp/claude-skills/engineering/skills/codebase-onboarding .claude/skills/codebase-onboardingSkill source: engineering/skills/codebase-onboarding/SKILL.md
⚠️ Good to know
Requires Python and access to the target repository; docs must be validated on a clean environment and kept updated.
❓ FAQ
What does the skill produce?
It produces onboarding documentation files using a template, tailored to the audience (junior, senior, contractor).
How do I start using the skill?
Run the codebase_analyzer.py script on the target repository, then fill the onboarding template.
What are common pitfalls?
Writing docs without validating setup commands, mixing architecture deep-dives into contractor docs, omitting troubleshooting steps, and letting docs drift from the repo state.
🤖 Overview, features, install steps and FAQ were generated from the project's SKILL.md on Sep 4, 2026. Always check the original source before running commands.