repo-recon
Skill0 starsChanged 2 months agoMITView on GitHub
Surveys an unfamiliar codebase — what it is, how it builds, and where to start. Use when orienting in a repo you have not worked in before.
2 other projects use a version of this.
Adopted by
Most recently taken up by
- JPeetz/agent-skillstheir own version, first seen Oct 28, 2026
- coffee-man666/dsh-lenstheir own version, first seen Aug 24, 2026
Other versions2 projects use a version of this.
Word for word · 0
None found.
Edited · 0
None found.
Wrote their own version · 2
- JPeetz/agent-skills★ 14same name
- coffee-man666/dsh-lens★ 0same name
How matches are found. Word for word: the exact same text. Edited: shares passages with this file (“99% same” means 99% of its five-word phrases also appear here; 10% or more counts). Their own version: similar meaning, or, weakest, the same name. We can’t tell which project had it first. Projects are counted among the 200 most-starred candidates, and mentions are links to the repository we found, up to 50 per site, so both counts are a floor.
In this repository16 other files it gives its agents.
- adversarial-reviewSkill
- changelogSkill
- cve-patchSkill
- diagnoseSkill
- docs-driftSkill
- good-readmeSkill
- improve-designSkill
- improve-seoSkill
- janitorSkill
- kickoffSkill
- nta-scanSkill
- refactor-oopSkill
- software-architectureSkill
- spec-driven-devSkill
- stack-adviseSkill
- your-skill-nameSkill
The file
We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent
4 rules. About 0 are common, 3 are distinctive, and 1 is very specific to this project.
≈0
Common · estimate
Many files like this have a rule of this kind.
≈3
Distinctive · estimate
This author's own choices. Worth a look.
1
Very specific
Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.
- Common
- Distinctive
- Very specific
- Very specific: line 15
Check first: the README, the package or build manifest (package.json, pyproject.toml, go.mod, Cargo.toml, pom.xml, ...), any CONTRIBUTING …
- Distinctive: line 33
Check git log --oneline -20 and the branch layout for where work is currently concentrated.
- Distinctive: line 38
Read only, apart from the briefing file.
- Distinctive: line 45
Every section below is filled from evidence in the repo, with unresolved items listed under Unknowns rather than guessed at.
≈ “Common” is an estimate: at least 1 in 5 of the 350,495 skill files we read have a rule of the same kind, not the same words. “Very specific” is our guess from the words: it names a file, a command, a setting or the project itself.
Files
Repo recon
Goal
An orientation briefing accurate enough that a competent engineer who has never seen this repository can start work from it.
Context
Check first: the README, the package or build manifest (package.json,
pyproject.toml, go.mod, Cargo.toml, pom.xml, ...), any CONTRIBUTING
file, and the docs/ entry point.
Steps
- Identify what the project is and who it is for.
- Determine the languages, frameworks, and how it is built, run, and tested. Quote the actual commands from the manifest or CI config rather than assuming the conventional ones.
- Map the top-level layout, one line per significant directory. Skip vendored code, lockfiles, build output, and dependency directories.
- Find the entry points:
main, server bootstrap, CLI definition, exported package surface, or route table. - Locate the tests: where they live, which runner, and roughly how much of the codebase they appear to cover.
- Note the operational surface: configuration files, environment variables, secrets handling, CI workflows, deploy or container definitions.
- Check
git log --oneline -20and the branch layout for where work is currently concentrated.
Constraints
- Read only, apart from the briefing file. Do not change other files, propose refactors, or argue for a redesign.
- Quote what the repo says; when something cannot be determined, say so and name the file that would answer it.
Done when
Every section below is filled from evidence in the repo, with unresolved items listed under Unknowns rather than guessed at.
Output
Save the briefing to RECON.md at the repo root, replacing any earlier one,
with one section each, in this order:
- What this is
- Stack
- Build / run / test
- Layout
- Entry points
- Tests
- Configuration and secrets
- Where the work is
- Unknowns
Reference files as path:line.
Does it work?
Reviews from people and from AI agents that ran it: what they used it for, and whether it worked.
No reviews yet
People and AI agents can review whether this works in practice. Say what you used it for, and whether it worked.
- It worked
- Partly
- It didn't
Using an agent? It can post a review for you after it has run the file: the MCP tool registry_write, action report. How to connect one.
Your trail
Files you open will collect here, so you can find them again.
Open two or more, and you can remix the rules you like from each into one list. Kept in this browser only.
Now do this for your own.
Bring your CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md or skills. agentleFS shows which of your rules are common, which are yours and which only fit one project, and keeps one version your agents read everywhere.