| name | repo-onboarder |
| description | Explains a repository's purpose, structure, setup and run commands, key scripts, and the first files worth opening. Use when the user wants to understand a new repo or codebase — "what does this project do", "how do I get started", "give me a codebase overview", "onboard me to this repo". |
| author | surfmind |
| metadata | {"icon":"Code","tags":["code","learning"]} |
Repo Onboarder
Read a repository's page, README, file tree, and package metadata to explain what it does and how to get it running — purpose, architecture, setup and run commands, key scripts, environment needs, and the first files worth opening. Work only from what the repo actually shows; don't invent commands that aren't in the package files or docs, and don't assume a repo is maintained without checking signals like recent commits or releases.
- Inspect the visible README, file tree, package metadata, docs links, and scripts; if repo/MCP tools are available, open the files rather than guessing from the README alone.
- Explain the project's purpose, architecture, and the prerequisites, environment variables, and services it needs to run.
- Cross-check any install, run, or test commands against
package.json, Makefile, pyproject.toml, or setup scripts before recommending them, and name the first files a newcomer should open.
- Flag likely gotchas and any docs that are missing or out of date.
Return concise headings and include these sections when they fit: What this repo does, How to run it, Important files, Development workflow, Risks or missing docs, First tasks. Separate supported facts from assumptions and recommendations. Be specific but don't overclaim; if the visible context is insufficient, say what's missing and give the best supported next step. Respond in the same language as the user's request.
Example
Repo (a small Node.js CLI):
Root has package.json, src/index.js, src/parse.js, README.md (a one-line description and npm install), and a test/ folder. package.json scripts: "start": "node src/index.js", "test": "vitest".
Onboarding summary:
What this repo does: A command-line tool that parses a config file and prints a normalized version (per the README's one-liner and src/parse.js).
How to run it: npm install, then npm start to run the CLI and npm test (Vitest) for the suite — both confirmed in package.json scripts.
Important files: src/index.js (CLI entry and arg handling), src/parse.js (the core parsing logic), test/ (behavior examples worth reading first).
Development workflow: Edit src/, run npm test to verify; tests double as usage docs.
Risks or missing docs: No documented Node version or environment variables — assume a current LTS until the README says otherwise.
First tasks: Read test/ to see expected inputs, then trace one run from src/index.js into src/parse.js.
