codebase-wiki

name	codebase-wiki
description	How to work in a Codebase Wiki project (the `codebase-wiki` starter pack): an agent-authored, source-grounded wiki of the surrounding codebase. Read when the project has a `wiki/` knowledge base with `architecture/`, `modules/`, `flows/`, `concepts/`, and `guides/` sections plus `wiki/OVERVIEW.md`, or when asked to generate or refresh a wiki of this codebase. Carries the per-folder rules and freshness + log discipline, summarizes the audience/depth knobs and source-reference convention, and bundles the full generate/refresh procedure in `references/`. Complements the platform `open-knowledge` skill; does not replace it.
compatibility	Any agent host with the OpenKnowledge MCP server configured. Installed project-local by `ok seed --pack codebase-wiki`.
metadata	{"pack":"codebase-wiki","author":"Inkeep","repository":"https://github.com/inkeep/open-knowledge-skills"}

Codebase Wiki pack — how to work here

This project holds an agent-authored wiki of a codebase — DeepWiki, but living in the repo. A coding agent reads the source and writes a navigable, diagram-rich, source-grounded wiki as markdown under wiki/. It is version-controlled and diffable, private by default, human+agent co-editable, renders in OK's live preview, and doubles as durable grounding context for future agent sessions. There is no separate Q&A surface — Q&A is "the OK-grounded agent + search".

This skill is pack guidance. The platform /open-knowledge skill (read/write/preview/linking/grounding rules) still governs every markdown operation — this layers the wiki workflow on top.

The shape

wiki/
  OVERVIEW.md     hub: what it is, a big-picture architecture diagram, a nav map to every section.
                  Frontmatter carries `profile` (audience/depth) + `source_commit` (freshness anchor).
  log.md          append-only generation / refresh audit trail
  architecture/   system boundaries, layers, subsystems, cross-cutting concerns + diagrams
  modules/        one page per package / module: purpose, entry points, key files, deps
  flows/          key end-to-end flows as sequence / flow diagrams + narrative
  concepts/       glossary: atomic pages for domain terms / core abstractions
  guides/         task-oriented "how / where do I change X" (filled at depth >= standard)

Generating + refreshing

Don't free-hand it — read references/generate-and-refresh.md and follow the phased, STOP-gated procedure. It auto-detects mode: a stubbed OVERVIEW.md (empty source_commit) → generate (survey → overview → architecture → modules → flows → concepts → link-graph audit); a stamped source_commit → refresh (diff source_commit..HEAD, update only affected pages, re-stamp).

Two toolsets. Read source code with NATIVE tools (Read/Grep/Glob/Bash) — OK MCP does not index non-markdown source. Author and audit the wiki with OK MCP verbs (write/edit for pages, links/search for the graph). Never hand-write wiki markdown with native Write/Edit.

The two knobs

Two natural-language knobs, read from the user's request (e.g. "build the wiki, public and exhaustive") and recorded in OVERVIEW.md frontmatter (profile: <audience>/<depth>) so refreshes stay consistent:

• audience — internal (default) or public. public means polished prose, no secrets / internal infra / ticket numbers, and GitHub-URL source references.
• depth — tour | standard (default) | exhaustive. Scales coverage from OVERVIEW + architecture + top flows up through per-package module pages, concepts, and task guides.

references/generate-and-refresh.md is the authoritative source for exactly how each knob shapes the output — read it before generating.

Source-reference convention

• Intra-wiki navigation → OK doc links — they build the backlink / hub / orphan graph, so link liberally; density is how the wiki stays navigable.
• Code references → relative links + symbol code-spans (internal) or GitHub blob URLs (public). Source-file links stay out of the navigation graph (links tracks only .md/.mdx edges, so they never show as graph dead-links or orphans) — but a wrong-depth path still surfaces in the write/edit brokenLinks response (no-such-file, or unresolvable if it overshoots the content root), so count the ../ hops from the page's folder. Never invent paths — reference only files you actually read.

The full rules — the GitHub-URL / relative fallback, the #Lxx caveat, and the exact code-span shape — live in references/generate-and-refresh.md.

Per-folder rules

architecture/ — One page per architectural area (boundaries, layers, subsystems, cross-cutting concerns). Each: a mermaid system-context or component diagram, key components (with source refs), and the design decisions behind them. Uses the architecture-page template. At depth: tour, modules fold in here.

modules/ — One page per package / module: purpose, responsibilities, public API / entry points, key files (linked per the convention), dependencies, and flows it participates in. Uses the module-page template. Skipped at tour; sub-module depth scales with the knob.

flows/ — Key end-to-end sequences as mermaid sequence / flow diagrams + narrative. Uses the flow-page template; add a Failure modes section at exhaustive. Link every module and concept the flow crosses.

concepts/ — Atomic glossary pages (one term each): definition, why it matters, where it lives in the code. Uses the concept-page template. Keep small and densely cross-linked so each concept becomes a hub.

guides/ — Task-oriented "how / where do I change X" walkthroughs: goal, steps, relevant code, gotchas. Uses the guide-page template. Populated at standard, rich at exhaustive, thin/empty at tour.

Freshness discipline (MUST)

OVERVIEW.md frontmatter carries source_commit — the git HEAD the wiki was last generated/refreshed against. It is the freshness anchor: refresh mode diffs source_commit..HEAD to update only the affected pages, then re-stamps it. Always re-stamp source_commit after a generate or refresh run — a stale anchor silently breaks incremental refresh.

Log discipline (MUST)

wiki/log.md is an append-only audit trail. Append one dated entry per generation or refresh run — one per run, not per page. Reference touched pages as markdown links ([Server](./modules/server.md)) so they register in the backlink graph. Entry shape:

## YYYY-MM-DD: <generate | refresh>

- Profile: <audience>/<depth>
- source_commit: <short-sha> (was <prev-sha> on refresh)
- Coverage: <sections / packages written or updated>
- Pages: [Overview](./OVERVIEW.md), [Server](./modules/server.md), ...

Templates

Each folder ships a starter template (architecture-page, module-page, flow-page, concept-page, guide-page). Create with write({ document: { path, template: "<name>" } }). Templates carry only structure (headings + frontmatter scaffold); what each section is for is described above and in references/generate-and-refresh.md, not repeated inside document bodies.