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sreejithramansreejithraman/SreeStack/skills/how/SKILL.md

how

Skill1 starsChanged 16 days agoMITView on GitHub

Explain how existing code works, trace a subsystem's runtime and data flow, or identify current package ownership and layering. Use why for historical rationale and architect for proposed designs.

90 other projects use a version of this, 48 of them edited.

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Used with

Projects with it also use setup-pstack, ketchup-video and 9 more.

Other files people use alongside this one.

Files found in the same public projects as a version of this one, more often than they turn up anywhere else. Each project counts once, large collections count for less, and this file's own repository is left out.
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The file

We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent

3 rules. 0 are common, 3 are distinctive, and 0 are very specific to this project.

  • 0

    Common

    Most of the 89 edited versions we read keep these.

  • 3

    Distinctive

    This author's own choices. Worth a look.

  • 0

    Very specific

    Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.

  • Common
  • Distinctive
  • Very specific
  1. Distinctive:

    If the scope is ambiguous, state your interpretation and explore.

    line 20
  2. Distinctive:

    When in doubt, take the simple path.

    line 27
  3. Distinctive:

    Use the explorer prompt with each angle filled in.

    line 32

“Common” is measured: kept by at least 6 in 10 of the 89 edited versions of this file we could read. “Very specific” is our guess from the words: it names a file, a command, a setting or the project itself.

Keep what fits and drop the rest. Your version, ready for your agents.
Files
SKILL.md

How

Explore the codebase to answer "how does X work?" questions. Produce architectural explanations at the level of a senior engineer onboarding onto a subsystem, enough to build a working mental model, not so much that it reads like annotated source code.

Work read-only within the requested scope. Use orchestration for model selection, useful delegation, and acceptance. Historical motivation belongs to why; active defects to diagnosing-bugs; change risks to blast-radius. Explain existing ownership here; use codebase-design or architect for proposed placement or design changes.

1. Assess complexity

If the scope is ambiguous, state your interpretation and explore. The user can redirect. Anchor the question in the relevant entry points and current source revision, including working changes that affect the explanation.

  • Simple (a single module, a small utility, a narrow question such as "how does function X work"): explore and explain in one pass using the explainer prompt, without the explorer-findings section. Go to step 4.
  • Complex (a subsystem spanning multiple files or services, a cross-cutting feature, a full architectural overview): go to step 2.

When in doubt, take the simple path.

2. Explore (complex only)

Decompose the question into distinct slices of the subsystem, often 2 to 4 angles. Use the explorer prompt with each angle filled in. Delegate independent slices when useful and authorized; otherwise trace them directly. Keep source inputs consistent and give each explorer a bounded question.

3. Synthesize (complex only)

Once exploration is complete, use the explainer prompt with the question and findings. Reconcile overlapping accounts and resolve contradictions against the source before presenting one explanation. The parent checks the synthesis and owns the final answer.

4. Present

Adapt the explanation's sections to the question: Overview, Key Concepts, How It Works, Where Things Live, Gotchas. Finish when the requested flow and boundaries are traced to concrete code, or name exactly where the trace stops and why. Distinguish code-derived behavior from observed execution and historical evidence; a source walkthrough alone does not prove runtime correctness or author intent.

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