agentleFS
Sign inStart free
tristanphvntristanphvn/keel/skills/how/SKILL.md

how

Skill1 starsChanged 39 days agoMITView on GitHub

Use for \"how does X work\", code walkthroughs before changing something, and placement / ownership / layering questions (\"where should this live\", \"which package owns this\", \"is this the right layer\"). Explains subsystem architecture, runtime flow, onboarding mental models. Use why for motivation.

90 other projects use a version of this, 49 of them edited.

Adopted by

Most recently taken up by

Used with

Projects with it also use setup-pstack, poteto-help and 2 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.
  • bnemaSkill

    setup-pstack

    Configure which Pi models pstack uses per role. Detects available provider/model specs and writes pstack's user configuration. Use for /setup-pstack, "configure pstack models", or changing pstack model choices.

    Also in 25 projects that use this

  • ianclearySkill

    poteto-help

    Guides users through pstack setup, /poteto-mode, and picking the skill, playbook, or principle for a task. Type /poteto-help with a question.

    Also in 14 projects that use this

  • eryzerzSkill

    make-bot-ui

    Use when building a custom UI (page, dashboard, buttons) that should wake a Grok Bot over a webhook, when the user must provide a webhook sender key, or when exposing that UI on Tailscale.

    Also in 19 projects that use this

  • TheOnlyFusionCubeSkill

    statechart

    Draw what an app's user sees as a Mermaid statechart from a TLA+ model. States are gray if they work, red if still wrong, and green if fixed. Each bug TLC finds is a numbered path. Use for /statechart, \"show the PM the bug\", or to turn an agreed chart into a TLA+ skeleton.

    Also in 16 projects that use this

The file

We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent

2 rules. 0 are common, 2 are distinctive, and 0 are very specific to this project.

  • 0

    Common

    Most of the 88 edited versions we read keep these.

  • 2

    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 15
  2. Distinctive:

    When in doubt, take the simple path.

    line 20

“Common” is measured: kept by at least 6 in 10 of the 88 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.

Every spawn is a read-only subagent whose prompt opens with "Read-only: do not edit files." Explorers use subagent_type: "Explore" and the how explorer line (default sonnet), and every explainer uses subagent_type: "general-purpose" and the how explainer line (default opus). Read ${CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR:-$HOME/.claude}/keel-models.md if it exists; use the role's line, else the default. Pass that value as the Agent call's model. Omit model when the value is inherit, inherit-parent, or auto. If the Agent tool rejects a value, use the default and say so. If it rejects the default, omit model and say so. Pick each subagent's effort for the job, per the Subagents section of the lead skill.

1. Assess complexity

If the scope is ambiguous, state your interpretation and explore. The user can redirect.

  • Simple (a single module, a small utility, a narrow question such as "how does function X work"): no explorers. Spawn one explainer that explores and explains in one pass, built from references/explainer-prompt.md 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 2 to 4 angles, each a distinct slice of the subsystem. Spawn all explorers in a single message, each with references/explorer-prompt.md and its angle filled in.

3. Synthesize (complex only)

Once all explorers have returned, spawn one explainer with references/explainer-prompt.md and every explorer's findings filled in.

4. Present

Present the explainer's output. Light edits for clarity or context from the conversation are fine. Do not substantially rewrite it.

Output format

The explanation uses the sections defined in references/explainer-prompt.md, dropping any that do not apply: Overview, Key Concepts, How It Works, Where Things Live, Gotchas.

Download now (ZIP)

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
What did you use it for? e.g. Reviewing pull requests in a Rails app

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.

Check your setup, free