share-explanation

name	share-explanation
description	Explains how any project file, component, or concept works. Reads source files, synthesizes principles, and generates a social card. Use when the user asks how something works or to explain it.
allowed-tools	Bash, Read, Glob, Grep, Write, AskUserQuestion, Skill, ToolSearch, ExitPlanMode, SendUserFile
model	opus

share-explanation

Answer "how does X work" questions about any file, component, function, or concept in the current project — by reading the actual source files and synthesizing a structured developer-friendly explanation. Then deliver the result the same way all other share-* skills do: security scrub → platform-aware copy → dark-mode card → persistent save.

Quick Reference

Phase	Action
0 — Locate	Locate templates/ and derive PLUGIN_DIR
0b — Config	Load SOCIAL.md for platform/tone defaults
1 — Parse	Extract target name/concept and flags from $ARGUMENTS
2 — Locate files	Map target to SKILL.md, reference docs, and scripts
3 — Synthesize	Read files and build structured explanation
4 — Scrub	security-scrub the full explanation (BLOCKED = hard stop)
5 — Draft	Write content-first, platform-aware social copy
5b — Reuse	Check docs/media/social/ for an existing post on this target
6 — Populate	Select template, substitute {{VARIABLES}}
6b — Save	Persistent save to docs/media/social/
7 — Screenshot	Serve HTML locally, Playwright screenshot
8 — Deliver	Present explanation + copy + attach PNG + show saved path

Exit plan mode

ExitPlanMode is a deferred tool. Only call it if currently in plan mode — skip this step entirely when not in plan mode. When calling: use ToolSearch with select:ExitPlanMode first, then call ExitPlanMode silently.

---

Phase 0 — Locate Plugin Assets

Run silently:

[ -n "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}" ] && [ -d "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/templates" ] && \
  echo "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/templates"
find ~/.claude/plugins -path "*/social-media-tools/templates" -type d 2>/dev/null | head -1
find ~/.claude -path "*/social-media-tools/templates" -type d 2>/dev/null | head -1

Use the first non-empty result as TEMPLATES_DIR. Derive:

PLUGIN_DIR=$(dirname "$TEMPLATES_DIR")

If no directory is found: output "Templates not found. Install the plugin or load it with --plugin-dir." and STOP.

---

Phase 0b — Load Project Sharing Config

SOCIAL_CONFIG=""
GIT_ROOT="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null)"
if [ -f "$PWD/SOCIAL.md" ]; then
  SOCIAL_CONFIG="$PWD/SOCIAL.md"
elif [ -n "$GIT_ROOT" ] && [ -f "$GIT_ROOT/SOCIAL.md" ]; then
  SOCIAL_CONFIG="$GIT_ROOT/SOCIAL.md"
fi

If SOCIAL_CONFIG is non-empty, Read it silently. Extract:

• DEFAULT_PLATFORM from ## Defaults → Platform: line
• DEFAULT_TONE from ## Defaults → Tone: line

---

Phase 1 — Parse $ARGUMENTS

Extract:

• TARGET_RAW — all text that is not a --flag; the question or component name (e.g. "how does the share-session skill work", "security scrub pattern", "share-scan")
• PLATFORM — from --platform=<v>; keep empty if absent
• TONE — from --tone=<v>; keep empty if absent

If TARGET_RAW is empty after parsing, ask once via AskUserQuestion: "What component or concept would you like me to explain?" — stop if still empty.

---

Phase 2 — Identify Target and Locate Files

Establish project root — run silently:

GIT_ROOT="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null)"
[ -z "$GIT_ROOT" ] && GIT_ROOT="$PWD"

GIT_ROOT is the search boundary for all lookups below. Never search outside it.

---

Match priority — try each tier in order; stop at the first hit:

Tier 1 — Skill (SKILL.md)

For each token in TARGET_RAW, check if it matches a skill directory name anywhere in $GIT_ROOT (case-insensitive):

find "$GIT_ROOT" -path "*/skills/*/SKILL.md" -not -path "*/archive/*" \
  -not -path "*/.git/*" -type f 2>/dev/null | \
  awk -F/ '{print $(NF-1)"|"$0}' | grep -i "^<token>|" | head -1

If matched:

• TARGET_TYPE=skill
• TARGET_NAME=<skill-dir-name>
• PRIMARY_FILE=<full-path>

Tier 2 — Command file

If no skill matched, check each token against command filenames in $GIT_ROOT:

find "$GIT_ROOT" -path "*/commands/*.md" -not -path "*/archive/*" \
  -not -path "*/.git/*" -type f 2>/dev/null | \
  awk -F/ '{name=$(NF); sub(/\.md$/,"",name); print name"|"$0}' | \
  grep -i "^<token>|" | head -1

If matched:

• TARGET_TYPE=command
• TARGET_NAME=<basename-without-.md>
• PRIMARY_FILE=<full-path>

Tier 3 — Any source file by name

If still no match, search for any file whose base name (without extension) matches a token in TARGET_RAW across all tracked files in $GIT_ROOT:

find "$GIT_ROOT" \
  -not -path "*/.git/*" -not -path "*/archive/*" -not -path "*/node_modules/*" \
  -not -path "*/__pycache__/*" -not -path "*/dist/*" -not -path "*/build/*" \
  -type f \( -name "*.md" -o -name "*.py" -o -name "*.js" -o -name "*.ts" \
             -o -name "*.mjs" -o -name "*.sh" -o -name "*.json" \) 2>/dev/null | \
  awk -F/ '{name=$(NF); sub(/\.[^.]+$/,"",name); print name"|"$0}' | \
  grep -i "^<token>|" | head -3

Set TARGET_TYPE=file. Collect all matches as SOURCE_FILES (up to 3).

Tier 4 — Function or symbol search

If still no match, grep the project for a function definition, class, or exported symbol whose name contains any token from TARGET_RAW:

grep -rn --include="*.py" --include="*.js" --include="*.ts" --include="*.mjs" \
  -E "(def |function |class |export (function|const|class) )<token>" \
  "$GIT_ROOT" 2>/dev/null | \
  grep -v "archive\|node_modules\|\.git\|dist\|build" | head -10

Set TARGET_TYPE=function. Collect unique file paths from results as SOURCE_FILES.

Tier 5 — Keyword/concept grep (last resort)

If nothing matched above, grep all text files in $GIT_ROOT for the key terms in TARGET_RAW:

grep -ril "<key-terms>" "$GIT_ROOT" \
  --include="*.md" --include="*.py" --include="*.js" --include="*.ts" \
  --include="*.mjs" --include="*.sh" 2>/dev/null | \
  grep -v "archive\|node_modules\|\.git\|dist\|build" | head -5

Set TARGET_TYPE=concept. Collect up to 5 paths as SOURCE_FILES.

---

Derive a TARGET_NAME slug from TARGET_RAW for use in filenames:

TARGET_NAME=$(echo "$TARGET_RAW" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]' | sed 's/[^a-z0-9]/-/g' | tr -s '-' | sed 's/^-\|-$//g' | cut -c1-30)

If nothing matched across all five tiers: output "Could not locate <TARGET_RAW> in the project. Try the exact file name, function name, or a key term from the code." and STOP.

---

Phase 3 — Read Files and Synthesize

Read PRIMARY_FILE (or each file in SOURCE_FILES for multi-file targets). For skill targets, also read any reference files explicitly named in the SKILL.md body — do not bulk-read any directory. For code targets (file, function, concept), read only the matched files; do not speculatively read adjacent files.

Adapt the synthesis structure to TARGET_TYPE:

For skill or command targets — six sections:

1. Core Purpose — 1–2 sentences: what this component does and why it exists
2. Activation Conditions (skills only) — what user intent or trigger fires it; the frontmatter description field is the source of truth
3. Workflow Phases — numbered list, one line per phase: phase name + what it does
4. Key Patterns — bullet list of non-obvious conventions used
5. Important Files — path/to/file — purpose for each file the component reads or writes
6. Invocation — exact syntax with a brief usage example

For file, function, or concept targets — five sections:

1. Core Purpose — what this code does and the problem it solves
2. How It Works — numbered steps describing the logic flow or algorithm
3. Key Patterns — non-obvious conventions, assumptions, or design choices
4. Dependencies / Callers — what calls this and what it depends on (from the source)
5. Usage Example — minimal concrete call or invocation

Write concretely — real file names, real function signatures, real variable names. No filler.

SUMMARY_RAW = full EXPLANATION_RAW text (passed to security scrub in Phase 4).

---

Phase 4 — Security Scrub

Write EXPLANATION_RAW to a temp file:

mkdir -p ~/.claude/tmp

Write content to ~/.claude/tmp/scrub-input.txt.

Invoke:

Skill(skill: "social-media-tools:security-scrub", args: "Scan the file at ~/.claude/tmp/scrub-input.txt for secrets before sharing.")

Check the returned GATE RESULT line:

• GATE RESULT: BLOCKED or GATE RESULT: CANCELLED → STOP. Do not proceed to Phase 5.
• GATE RESULT: APPROVED → proceed to Phase 5.
• Missing or unrecognized result → STOP and report error (treat as gate failure).

---

Phase 5 — Draft Copy

Read $PLUGIN_DIR/references/platforms.md for character limits, tone defaults, the Instructional Voice doctrine, Learn-More CTA rule, and Default Per-Platform Copy Formats.

Resolve PLATFORM and TONE concretely before prompting:

# PLATFORM and TONE were parsed from $ARGUMENTS in Phase 1
[ -z "$PLATFORM" ] && [ -n "$DEFAULT_PLATFORM" ] && PLATFORM="$DEFAULT_PLATFORM"
[ -z "$TONE" ]     && [ -n "$DEFAULT_TONE" ]     && TONE="$DEFAULT_TONE"

Only if either variable is still empty after applying the above, ask for both in a single AskUserQuestion.

Takeaway-first: every post must surface a concrete, applicable takeaway — what the reader can learn or apply from how this component works (a pattern, technique, or design principle). The explanation is evidence for the lesson, not the headline.

Content guidance per platform:

• LinkedIn: hook on the key takeaway → 2–3 teachable patterns the reader can apply → one-line invocation example → learn-more CTA
• Twitter/X: one sharp teachable principle in ≤280 chars; invocation if space allows
• Bluesky: conversational, takeaway-first, same brevity as Twitter/X
• Substack: reflect on the teachable design principle and what the reader can apply; patterns as supporting detail

---

Phase 5b — Reuse Check

Now that TARGET_NAME and PLATFORM are both resolved, check for an existing post:

FILE_PREFIX=explain

Read $PLUGIN_DIR/references/reuse-check.md and follow its procedure.

---

Phase 6 — Populate Template

Select template based on target type:

• TARGET_TYPE=skill or TARGET_TYPE=command → use feature-card.html
• TARGET_TYPE=file or TARGET_TYPE=function → use feature-card.html
• TARGET_TYPE=concept → use quote-card.html

TEMPLATE_FILE=$TEMPLATES_DIR/<selected-template>
TEMP_HTML=explain-share-card.html
TODAY=$(date '+%Y-%m-%d')
# Normalize TARGET_NAME (or TARGET_RAW for concept targets) through the same slug pipeline
TARGET_SLUG="$(printf '%s' "${TARGET_NAME:-$TARGET_RAW}" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]' | tr -cs 'a-z0-9' '-' | sed 's/^-*//;s/-*$//' | cut -c1-30)"
SLUG_INPUT="explain-${TARGET_SLUG}-${TODAY}"

Read $PLUGIN_DIR/references/variables.md for the variable reference. Read $PLUGIN_DIR/references/copy-panels.md for {{COPY_PANELS}} markup and escaping.

HTML-escape all values — MANDATORY

Apply in this exact order:

1. & → & ← first, to prevent double-escaping
2. < → <
3. > → >
4. " → "

feature-card.html substitutions

Template variable	Value
{{TITLE}}	TARGET_NAME (HTML-escaped; e.g. share-session)
{{SUBTITLE}}	Core Purpose sentence, ≤100 chars (HTML-escaped)
{{BULLETS}}	One <li>…</li> per Workflow Phase — HTML-escape each phase's text, wrap in <li>. No wrapping <ul>.
{{BADGE}}	TARGET_TYPE (HTML-escaped; skill or command)
{{FOOTER_NOTE}}	Invocation syntax (HTML-escaped; e.g. /social-media-tools:share-session [--platform=])
{{COPY_PANELS}}	Copy panel HTML — see references/copy-panels.md

quote-card.html substitutions

Template variable	Value
{{QUOTE}}	Most important Key Pattern principle, ≤200 chars (HTML-escaped)
{{ATTRIBUTION}}	Plugin or project name (HTML-escaped; e.g. social-media-tools)
{{CONTEXT}}	Pattern category (HTML-escaped; e.g. Security pattern, Bootstrap pattern)
{{COPY_PANELS}}	Copy panel HTML — see references/copy-panels.md

Write the populated HTML to ~/.claude/tmp/explain-share-card.html.

---

Phase 6b — Persistent Save

Variables: FILE_PREFIX=explain, SLUG_INPUT, TEMP_HTML=explain-share-card.html.

Read $PLUGIN_DIR/references/saving-and-delivery.md — Persistent Save section.

---

Phase 7 — Screenshot

Read $PLUGIN_DIR/references/rendering-pipeline.md and follow the full pipeline.

---

Phase 8 — Deliver

Present the structured explanation in a fenced markdown block labeled ## Explanation.

Present the social copy in a separate fenced block labeled ## Copy.

Read $PLUGIN_DIR/references/saving-and-delivery.md — Deliver section for attaching the PNG and reporting the saved path.