Installs into .claude/skills of the current project.
Are you the author of Codebase Onboarding?
Add the live security badge to your README. It updates with every re-scan.
[](https://www.skillsdirectory.com/skills/jantoniofc-codebase-onboarding)
---
name: codebase-onboarding
description: Codebase Onboarding
risk: safe
source: community
license: MIT
---
# Codebase Onboarding
**Tier:** POWERFUL
**Category:** Engineering
**Domain:** Documentation / Developer Experience
---
## Overview
Analyze a codebase and generate onboarding documentation for engineers, tech leads, and contractors. This skill is optimized for fast fact-gathering and repeatable onboarding outputs.
## Core Capabilities
- Architecture and stack discovery from repository signals
- Key file and config inventory for new contributors
- Local setup and common-task guidance generation
- Audience-aware documentation framing
- Debugging and contribution checklist scaffolding
---
## When to Use
- Onboarding a new team member or contractor
- Rebuilding stale project docs after large refactors
- Preparing internal handoff documentation
- Creating a standardized onboarding packet for services
---
## Quick Start
```bash
# 1) Gather codebase facts
python3 scripts/codebase_analyzer.py /path/to/repo
# 2) Export machine-readable output
python3 scripts/codebase_analyzer.py /path/to/repo --json
# 3) Use the template to draft onboarding docs
# See references/onboarding-template.md
```
---
## Recommended Workflow
1. Run `scripts/codebase_analyzer.py` against the target repository.
2. Capture key signals: file counts, detected languages, config files, top-level structure.
3. Fill the onboarding template in `references/onboarding-template.md`.
4. Tailor output depth by audience:
- Junior: setup + guardrails
- Senior: architecture + operational concerns
- Contractor: scoped ownership + integration boundaries
---
## Onboarding Document Template
Detailed template and section examples live in:
- `references/onboarding-template.md`
- `references/output-format-templates.md`
---
## Common Pitfalls
- Writing docs without validating setup commands on a clean environment
- Mixing architecture deep-dives into contractor-oriented docs
- Omitting troubleshooting and verification steps
- Letting onboarding docs drift from current repo state
## Best Practices
1. Keep setup instructions executable and time-bounded.
2. Document the "why" for key architectural decisions.
3. Update docs in the same PR as behavior changes.
4. Treat onboarding docs as living operational assets, not one-time deliverables.
