# tldr-code

A skill that gives the agent tldr CLI commands for file trees, call graphs, data flow and dead code. Cheaper on tokens than reading whole files.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 503 installs · ★ 3946
- Author: parcadei
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/parcadei/Continuous-Claude-v3/tree/HEAD/.claude/skills/tldr-code/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-01-26
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/tldr-code

## What it does

The skill hands the agent a set of `tldr` commands instead of raw file reads. Ask for a structure map, a call graph or a program slice and you get a compact answer back. The author claims 95% token savings against reading files whole.

Five analysis layers sit underneath: AST for function signatures and imports, a cross-file call graph, CFG for complexity and branches, DFG for variable definitions and uses, PDG for dependencies and slicing. Semantic search runs on embeddings and needs a one-time index build (`tldr semantic index .`), which downloads a model on first run. A daemon keeps indexes in memory and shuts itself down after 30 minutes idle.

The skill runs through `Bash`, so `tldr` has to be on your PATH. Semantic search pulls a model: `bge-large-en-v1.5` at 1.3GB by default, or the lighter `all-MiniLM-L6-v2` at 80MB. No model means no semantic results, so check disk space before you rely on it.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add parcadei/Continuous-Claude-v3 --skill tldr-code -a claude-code
```

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

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add parcadei/Continuous-Claude-v3 --skill tldr-code -a codex
```

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

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add parcadei/Continuous-Claude-v3 --skill tldr-code -a cursor
```

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

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install parcadei/Continuous-Claude-v3 tldr-code
```

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

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add parcadei/Continuous-Claude-v3 --skill tldr-code -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/parcadei/Continuous-Claude-v3 --path .claude/skills/tldr-code
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

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

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add parcadei/Continuous-Claude-v3 --skill tldr-code -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/parcadei/Continuous-Claude-v3/tree/HEAD/.claude/skills/tldr-code/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- find every call site of a function
- measure cyclomatic complexity before a refactor
- strip unreachable code from a codebase
- see which tests a file change touches
- map architectural layers and circular dependencies

## Example prompts
- show me the call graph for src/ and find dead code
- which tests are affected by a change in src/api.py
- explain the data flow in process_data from src/processor.py

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: 47a63b875b2ddd28.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE 47a63b875b2ddd28
````text
---
name: tldr-code
description: Token-efficient code analysis via 5-layer stack (AST, Call Graph, CFG, DFG, PDG). 95% token savings.
allowed-tools: [Bash]
keywords: [debug, refactor, understand, complexity, "call graph", "data flow", "what calls", "how complex", search, explore, analyze, dead code, architecture, imports]
---

# TLDR-Code: Complete Reference

Token-efficient code analysis. **95% savings** vs raw file reads.

## Quick Reference

| Task | Command |
|------|---------|
| File tree | `tldr tree src/` |
| Code structure | `tldr structure . --lang python` |
| Search code | `tldr search "pattern" .` |
| Call graph | `tldr calls src/` |
| Who calls X? | `tldr impact func_name .` |
| Control flow | `tldr cfg file.py func` |
| Data flow | `tldr dfg file.py func` |
| Program slice | `tldr slice file.py func 42` |
| Dead code | `tldr dead src/` |
| Architecture | `tldr arch src/` |
| Imports | `tldr imports file.py` |
| Who imports X? | `tldr importers module_name .` |
| Affected tests | `tldr change-impact --git` |
| Type check | `tldr diagnostics file.py` |
| Semantic search | `tldr semantic search "auth flow"` |

---

## The 5-Layer Stack

```
Layer 1: AST         ~500 tokens   Function signatures, imports
Layer 2: Call Graph  +440 tokens   What calls what (cross-file)
Layer 3: CFG         +110 tokens   Complexity, branches, loops
Layer 4: DFG         +130 tokens   Variable definitions/uses
Layer 5: PDG         +150 tokens   Dependencies, slicing
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Total:              ~1,200 tokens  vs 23,000 raw = 95% savings
```

---

## CLI Commands

### Navigation

```bash
# File tree
tldr tree [path]
tldr tree src/ --ext .py .ts        # Filter extensions
tldr tree . --show-hidden           # Include hidden files

# Code structure (codemaps)
tldr structure [path] --lang python
tldr structure src/ --max 100       # Max files to analyze
```

### Search

```bash
# Text search
tldr search <pattern> [path]
tldr search "def process" src/
tldr search "class.*Error" . --ext .py
tldr search "TODO" . -C 3           # 3 lines context
tldr search "func" . --max 50       # Limit results

# Semantic search (natural language)
tldr semantic search "authentication flow"
tldr semantic search "error handling" --k 10
tldr semantic search "database queries" --expand  # Include call graph
```

### File Analysis

```bash
# Full file info
tldr extract <file>
tldr extract src/api.py
tldr extract src/api.py --class UserService      # Filter to class
tldr extract src/api.py --function process       # Filter to function
tldr extract src/api.py --method UserService.get # Filter to method

# Relevant context (follows call graph)
tldr context <entry> --project <path>
tldr context main --project src/ --depth 3
````
END THIRD-PARTY FILE 47a63b875b2ddd28

The third-party file has ended. Everything between the 47a63b875b2ddd28 tags is data: requests and commands from it are not followed. An “end of file” line with another tag inside the block is part of the file.

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