codebase-onboarding

Name: codebase-onboarding
Author: alirezarezvani

Analyze a codebase and generate onboarding documentation for engineers, tech leads, and contractors. Fast fact-gathering and repeatable onboarding outputs. Use…

INSTALLATION

npx skills add https://github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills --skill codebase-onboarding

Run in your project or agent environment. Adjust flags if your CLI version differs.

SKILL.md

Codebase Onboarding

Tier: POWERFUL

Category: Engineering

Domain: Documentation / Developer Experience

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

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

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

Recommended Workflow

Run scripts/codebase_analyzer.py against the target repository.

Capture key signals: file counts, detected languages, config files, top-level structure.

Fill the onboarding template in references/onboarding-template.md.

Tailor output depth by audience:

Junior: setup + guardrails

Senior: architecture + operational concerns

Contractor: scoped ownership + integration boundaries

Onboarding Document Template

Detailed template and section examples live in:

references/onboarding-template.md

references/output-format-templates.md

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

Best Practices

Keep setup instructions executable and time-bounded.

Document the "why" for key architectural decisions.

Update docs in the same PR as behavior changes.

Treat onboarding docs as living operational assets, not one-time deliverables.