Understand
Multi-agent codebase scanner that builds an interactive knowledge graph of every file, function, and dependency, with a guided tour for onboarding onto unfamiliar code.
Before & after
Same prompt, same agent — the only difference is the skill.
I can definitely help you understand this codebase. We'd need to go through the code and identify the main files and how they connect to each other. I could explain what different parts do as you ask questions about them. It would probably help to start with the main entry point and then work through the layers. Do you have specific parts you want to focus on, or would you prefer a general walkthrough? I'm happy to answer questions as they come up.
KNOWLEDGE GRAPH + INTERACTIVE DASHBOARD Ran /understand - full codebase scan FILE INVENTORY Total files: 412 Code files: 289 (.ts, .tsx, .js) Config files: 31 Tests: 54 Docs: 38 ARCHITECTURE LAYERS API layer: 34 endpoints across 7 route files Data access: Prisma ORM (12 models) UI components: 156 React/Vue components State management: Redux store with 8 slices Middleware: 9 custom middleware functions GUIDE TOUR (Recommended Reading Order) Step 1 → Read entry point (src/index.ts) → 5 min Step 2 → Understand data models (schema.prisma) → 10 min Step 3 → Follow one user request through auth → 15 min Step 4 → Map state management flow → 10 min Step 5 → Identify your change target → varies KNOWLEDGE GRAPH Clicking any node shows: • What that code does • What it depends on • What depends on it • Full file path and line count • Related test files PERSIST FOR FUTURE Graph saved to ./.understand/graph.json Next diff will highlight what changed since today
About this skill
name: understand-codebase description: Use when Multi-agent codebase scanner that builds an interactive knowledge graph of every file, function, and dependency, with a guided tour for onboarding onto unfamiliar code.
Understand
Solves the paralysis of opening a 200,000-line codebase with no idea where to start. Running /understand triggers multiple agents to scan the entire project, extracting every file, function, and dependency relationship into a knowledge graph. Running /understand-dashboard opens an interactive dashboard where clicking any node explains what that code does and what it connects to, organized by architecture layer. A guided tour feature walks through the architecture in a recommended reading order. It also ingests PDFs, markdown, and even images via vision, folding them into the same knowledge graph, and the graph persists on disk so it can be diffed against future code changes.
What you get
- Full-codebase knowledge graph, interactive clickable architecture dashboard, guided onboarding tour in recommended reading order, supports code plus PDFs/markdown/images, persistent graph that can diff against future changes.
Customize your output
- Choose which architecture layers to prioritize in the guided tour and which file types to ingest into the graph.
Example output
Ran /understand on a 200k-line unfamiliar repo — produced a full dependency graph and a guided tour explaining the auth layer, API layer, and data layer in the recommended order to read them.
Best for
Developers inheriting unfamiliar codebases, new hires onboarding onto large projects, anyone needing a fast mental model of a big repo.
SKILL.md preview
---
name: understand-codebase
description: Use when onboarding onto an unfamiliar or very large codebase and needing a navigable map of its files, functions, and dependencies before making changes.
version: 1.0.0
category: Development / Onboarding
author: AgentVolt
license: proprietary
tags:
- development
- onboarding
- standard
---
# Understand
Runs multiple agents to scan an entire project into a persistent, interactive knowledge graph with a guided reading-order tour, solving the paralysis of opening a 200,000-line codebase with no idea where to start.
## When to use
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