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skill Claude Code CX Codex Cursor GitHub Copilot

why — Claude Code skill for code decision rationale

The skill investigates why code took its current shape by checking Git history and available MCP sources, then returns cited findings about decisions and tradeoffs.

Install into Claude Code · Skills CLI (Vercel) All methods and platforms ↓ 
npx skills add cursor/plugins --skill why -a claude-code
Open on GitHub

What why does

Ask why a design was chosen, what led to a regression, or where a threshold came from. The skill anchors the question to code and its history, then runs parallel investigations across available sources such as issue trackers, long-form docs, team chat, and observability data. Its response brings together the rationale and tradeoffs with citations.

The investigation depends on relevant MCP servers being available; source history is checked through git and gh. This skill focuses on decision context, not runtime behavior. Its companion how skill covers what code does and how it works. A missing connected source leaves a gap in the investigation, so it should not be treated as evidence. The source text is truncated, so further workflow details are omitted.

What it helps with

  • trace why a particular implementation was chosen
  • find the decision history behind a regression
  • check what evidence supports a code threshold
  • connect issue discussions to changes in Git

Example prompts for the agent

  • Why does this code handle timeouts this way?
  • Investigate what led to this regression and cite the sources.
  • Why did we choose this threshold? Check Git history and available MCPs.

How to install why

1Skills CLI (Vercel)

npx skills add cursor/plugins --skill why -a claude-code

2Manually: put the files in place

~/.claude/skills/why/SKILL.md

Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/why/

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Questions about why

How do I install why in Claude Code?

Run npx skills add cursor/plugins --skill why -a claude-code. The install list repeats that command; the skill file path is ~/.claude/skills/why/SKILL.md.

What does the why skill do?

It investigates the rationale and context behind code decisions using Git history and available MCP sources. The response includes cited findings.

How is why different from how?

why investigates the forces behind a design. Its companion how skill explains what code does and how it works.

See also

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