codebase-onboarding

name	codebase-onboarding
description	Onboarding a new team member or contractor
executor	HYBRID
skill_id	engineering.cs-engineering.codebase-onboarding
status	ADOPTED
security	{"level":"standard","pii":false,"approval_required":false}
anchors	["engineering"]
tier	2
input_schema	[{"name":"code_or_task","type":"string","description":"Code snippet, script, or task description to process","required":true},{"name":"context","type":"string","description":"Additional context or background information","required":false}]
output_schema	[{"name":"result","type":"string","description":"Generated or refactored code output"},{"name":"explanation","type":"string","description":"Explanation of changes or implementation decisions"}]

Codebase Onboarding

Tier: POWERFUL
Category: Engineering
Domain: Documentation / Developer Experience

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Overview

Analyze a codebase and generate onboarding documentation for engineers, tech leads, and contractors. This skill is optimized for fast fact-gathering and repeatable onboarding outputs.

Core Capabilities

• 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

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When to Use

• 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

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Quick Start

# 1) Gather codebase facts
python3 scripts/codebase_analyzer.py /path/to/repo

# 2) Export machine-readable output
python3 scripts/codebase_analyzer.py /path/to/repo --json

# 3) Use the template to draft onboarding docs
# See references/onboarding-template.md

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Recommended Workflow

1. Run scripts/codebase_analyzer.py against the target repository.
2. Capture key signals: file counts, detected languages, config files, top-level structure.
3. Fill the onboarding template in references/onboarding-template.md.
4. Tailor output depth by audience:
   • Junior: setup + guardrails
   • Senior: architecture + operational concerns
   • Contractor: scoped ownership + integration boundaries

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Onboarding Document Template

Detailed template and section examples live in:

• references/onboarding-template.md
• references/output-format-templates.md

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Common Pitfalls

• Writing docs without validating setup commands on a clean environment
• Mixing architecture deep-dives into contractor-oriented docs
• Omitting troubleshooting and verification steps
• Letting onboarding docs drift from current repo state