# codebase-onboarding

Fires five explore subagents in parallel to cover architecture, data models, APIs, auth and deployment, then merges their findings into one onboarding doc.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 476 installs · ★ 866
- Author: spencerpauly
- License: CC0-1.0 · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/spencerpauly/awesome-cursor-skills/tree/HEAD/resources/codebase-onboarding/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-08-02
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/spencerpauly-codebase-onboarding

## What it does

The skill spawns 5 `explore` subagents at once. Each takes one area: directory layout and framework, database schemas and ORM, API routes, authentication, deployment config. The subagents are read-only, so nothing in your repo changes.

Results get merged into a single document with Quick Start, Architecture, Data Models, API Reference, Authentication, Deployment and a list of key files. It lands in `ONBOARDING.md` at the project root unless you name another path. Quick Start holds the install, migration and dev-server commands the agents found in the repo.

On a monorepo the skill suggests one extra agent per app or package. The output is meant to be opinionated: it points at the files to start with and calls out gotchas like easy-to-forget env vars and required system dependencies. If a project has no schemas or migrations, that section comes back empty, which is worth checking before you trust the rest.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add spencerpauly/awesome-cursor-skills --skill codebase-onboarding -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/codebase-onboarding/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/codebase-onboarding/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add spencerpauly/awesome-cursor-skills --skill codebase-onboarding -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/codebase-onboarding/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add spencerpauly/awesome-cursor-skills --skill codebase-onboarding -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/codebase-onboarding/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install spencerpauly/awesome-cursor-skills codebase-onboarding
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/codebase-onboarding/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add spencerpauly/awesome-cursor-skills --skill codebase-onboarding -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/spencerpauly/awesome-cursor-skills --path resources/codebase-onboarding
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/codebase-onboarding/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add spencerpauly/awesome-cursor-skills --skill codebase-onboarding -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/spencerpauly/awesome-cursor-skills/tree/HEAD/resources/codebase-onboarding/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- get oriented in an unfamiliar repo before the first edit
- build a map of endpoints and their auth requirements
- list every database schema and how entities relate
- figure out how the project builds and deploys
- write onboarding notes for a new teammate

## Example prompts
- run codebase-onboarding on this repo and save the result to ONBOARDING.md
- generate an onboarding doc for the monorepo, one agent per package
- map the auth flow and API of this project into ONBOARDING.md

## Source text · SKILL.md · CC0-1.0

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BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE 3a1ec15d5c7a67e9
````text
---
name: codebase-onboarding
description: Launch multiple explore subagents in parallel to investigate architecture, data models, auth, APIs, and deployment. Synthesize into an onboarding document.
user-invocable: true
---

# Codebase Onboarding

Generate a comprehensive onboarding document for a codebase by exploring it in parallel.

## Workflow

### 1. Launch Parallel Explorers

Spawn 5 `explore` subagents, each investigating a different area:

**Agent 1 — Architecture & Structure**
> "Map the top-level directory structure. Identify the framework (Next.js, Express, Django, etc.), monorepo tools (turbo, nx), and key config files. List every app/package and what it does."

**Agent 2 — Data Models & Database**
> "Find all database schemas, ORM models, migrations, and seed files. List every entity, its fields, and relationships. Identify the database (Postgres, MySQL, MongoDB, etc.) and ORM (Prisma, Drizzle, SQLAlchemy, etc.)."

**Agent 3 — API Routes & Endpoints**
> "Find all API route definitions. List every endpoint with its HTTP method, path, auth requirements, and what it does. Identify the API style (REST, GraphQL, tRPC)."

**Agent 4 — Authentication & Authorization**
> "Find how auth works. Identify the auth provider (Auth.js, Clerk, Supabase Auth, custom), session management, protected routes, role/permission checks, and middleware."

**Agent 5 — Deployment & Infrastructure**
> "Find deployment config (Dockerfile, Vercel config, fly.toml, terraform), CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, etc.), environment variables needed, and how to run the app locally."

### 2. Synthesize

Combine the results from all 5 agents into a single onboarding document:

```markdown
# Codebase Onboarding

## Quick Start
1. Clone the repo
2. Install dependencies: `<command>`
3. Set up environment: copy `.env.example` to `.env`
4. Run database migrations: `<command>`
5. Start dev server: `<command>`

## Architecture
<Agent 1 findings>

## Data Models
<Agent 2 findings>

## API Reference
<Agent 3 findings>

## Authentication
<Agent 4 findings>

## Deployment
<Agent 5 findings>

## Key Files to Know
- `<file>` — <why it matters>
```

### 3. Save

Write the document to `ONBOARDING.md` in the project root, or wherever the user specifies.

## Tips

- Each explore agent is read-only and fast — the whole process takes under a minute
- For monorepos, consider one additional agent per app/package
- The document should be opinionated — highlight the "start here" files, not just list everything
````
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---
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