vibeeval/vibecosystem/explore

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Meta-skill for internal codebase exploration at varying depths (quick/deep/architecture)

Install

npx vskill@latest install vibeeval/vibecosystem/explore

SKILL.md

Explore - Internal Codebase Exploration

Meta-skill for exploring an internal codebase at varying depths. READ-ONLY workflow - no code changes.

Usage

/explore <depth> [options]

Question Flow (No Arguments)

If the user types just /explore with no or partial arguments, guide them through this question flow. Use AskUserQuestion for each phase.

Phase 0: Workflow Selection
yaml
question: "How would you like to explore?"
header: "Explore"
options:
- label: "Help me choose (Recommended)"
description: "I'll ask questions to pick the right exploration depth"
- label: "Quick - fast overview"
description: "Chain: tldr tree → tldr structure (~1 min)"
- label: "Deep - comprehensive analysis"
description: "Chain: onboard → tldr → research → document (~5 min)"
- label: "Architecture - layers & dependencies"
description: "Chain: tldr arch → call graph → layer mapping (~3 min)"

Mapping:

  • "Help me choose" → Continue to Phase 1-4 questions
  • "Quick" → Set depth=quick, skip to Phase 2 (scope)
  • "Deep" → Set depth=deep, skip to Phase 2 (scope)
  • "Architecture" → Set depth=architecture, skip to Phase 2 (scope)

If Answer is Unclear (via "Other"):

yaml
question: "I want to understand how deep you want to explore. Did you mean..."
header: "Clarify"
options:
- label: "Help me choose"
description: "Not sure - guide me through questions"
- label: "Quick - fast overview"
description: "Just want to see what's here"
- label: "Deep - comprehensive analysis"
description: "Need thorough understanding"
- label: "Neither - let me explain differently"
description: "I'll describe what I need"
Phase 1: Exploration Goal
yaml
question: "What are you trying to understand?"
header: "Goal"
options:
- label: "Get oriented in the codebase"
description: "Quick overview of structure"
- label: "Understand how something works"
description: "Deep dive into specific area"
- label: "Map the architecture"
description: "Layers, dependencies, patterns"
- label: "Find where something is"
description: "Locate specific code/functionality"

Mapping:

  • "Get oriented" → quick depth
  • "Understand how" → deep depth
  • "Map architecture" → architecture depth
  • "Find where" → quick with --focus
Phase 2: Scope
yaml
question: "What area should I focus on?"
header: "Focus"
options:
- label: "Entire codebase"
description: "Explore everything"
- label: "Specific directory or module"
description: "I'll specify the path"
- label: "Specific concept/feature"
description: "e.g., 'authentication', 'API routes'"

If "Specific directory" or "Specific concept" → ask follow-up for the path/keyword.

Phase 3: Output Format
yaml
question: "What should I produce?"
header: "Output"
options:
- label: "Just tell me what you find"
description: "Interactive summary in chat"
- label: "Create a documentation file"
description: "Write to thoughts/shared/docs/"
- label: "Create handoff for implementation"
description: "Prepare context for coding agent"

Mapping:

  • "Documentation file" → --output doc
  • "Handoff for implementation" → --output handoff
Phase 4: Entry Point (Architecture only)

If architecture depth selected:

yaml
question: "Where should I start the analysis?"
header: "Entry point"
options:
- label: "Auto-detect (main, cli, app)"
description: "Find common entry points"
- label: "Specific function/file"
description: "I'll specify the entry point"
Summary Before Execution
Based on your answers, I'll run:
**Depth:** deep
**Focus:** "authentication"
**Output:** handoff
**Path:** src/
Proceed? [Yes / Adjust settings]
Depths
DepthTimeWhat it does
quick~1 mintldr-explorer only - fast structure overview
deep~5 minonboard + tldr-explorer + research-codebase + write doc
architecture~3 mintldr arch + call graph + layer mapping + circular dep detection
Options
OptionDescriptionExample
--focus "area"Focus on specific area--focus "auth", --focus "api"
--output handoffCreate handoff for next agent--output handoff
--output docCreate documentation file--output doc
--entry "func"Start from specific entry point--entry "main", --entry "process_request"

Examples

bash
# Quick structure overview
/explore quick
# Deep exploration focused on auth
/explore deep --focus "auth" --output doc
# Architecture analysis from specific entry
/explore architecture --entry "cli" --output handoff
# Quick focused exploration
/explore quick --focus "hooks"

Workflow Details

Quick Depth

Fast structure overview using tldr-explorer. Best for:

  • Initial orientation
  • Quick questions about structure
  • Finding where things are

Steps:

  1. Run tldr tree for file structure
  2. Run tldr structure for codemaps
  3. If --focus provided, run tldr search for targeted results
  4. Return summary

Commands:

bash
# 1. File tree
tldr tree ${PATH:-src/} --ext .py
# 2. Code structure
tldr structure ${PATH:-src/} --lang python
# 3. Focused search (if --focus provided)
tldr search "${FOCUS}" ${PATH:-src/}
Deep Depth

Comprehensive exploration with documentation output. Best for:

  • First time in a codebase
  • Preparing for major work
  • Creating reference documentation

Steps:

  1. Check if onboarded (look for .claude/cache/tldr/), if not run onboard
  2. Run tldr-explorer for structure
  3. Spawn research-codebase agent for patterns
  4. Write findings to doc or handoff

Subprocess:

# 1. Onboard check
if [ ! -f .claude/cache/tldr/arch.json ]; then
# Spawn onboard agent
fi
# 2. Structure analysis
tldr structure src/ --lang python
tldr calls src/
# 3. Research patterns (via scout agent)
Task: research-codebase → "Document existing patterns in ${FOCUS:-codebase}"
# 4. Write output
→ thoughts/shared/research/YYYY-MM-DD-explore-{focus}.md
→ OR thoughts/shared/handoffs/{session}/explore-{focus}.yaml
Architecture Depth

Architecture-focused analysis with layer detection. Best for:

  • Understanding system boundaries
  • Preparing for refactoring
  • Identifying coupling issues

Steps:

  1. Run tldr arch for layer detection
  2. Run tldr calls for cross-file call graph
  3. Analyze entry/middle/leaf layers
  4. Detect circular dependencies
  5. Map architectural boundaries

Commands:

bash
# 1. Architecture detection
tldr arch ${PATH:-src/}
# Returns: entry_layer, middle_layer, leaf_layer, circular_deps
# 2. Call graph
tldr calls ${PATH:-src/}
# Returns: edges, nodes
# 3. Impact analysis from entry point (if --entry provided)
tldr impact ${ENTRY} ${PATH:-src/} --depth 3

Output Structure:

yaml
layers:
entry: [routes.py, cli.py, main.py] # Controllers/handlers
middle: [services.py, auth.py] # Business logic
leaf: [utils.py, helpers.py] # Utilities
call_graph:
total_edges: 142
hot_paths: [process_request → validate → authorize]
circular_deps:
- [module_a, module_b] # A imports B, B imports A
boundaries:
- name: API layer
files: [src/api/*]
calls_to: [src/services/*]

Output Formats

--output doc

Creates: thoughts/shared/research/YYYY-MM-DD-explore-{focus}.md

markdown
---
date: {ISO timestamp}
type: exploration
depth: {quick|deep|architecture}
focus: {focus area or "full"}
commit: {git hash}
---
# Codebase Exploration: {focus}
## Summary
{High-level findings}
## Structure
{File tree / codemaps}
## Architecture
{Layer analysis - for architecture depth}
## Key Components
{Important files and their roles}
## Patterns Found
{Existing patterns - for deep depth}
## References
-`path/to/file.py:line` - Description
--output handoff

Creates: thoughts/shared/handoffs/{session}/explore-{focus}.yaml

yaml
---
type: exploration
ts: {ISO timestamp}
depth: {quick|deep|architecture}
focus: {focus area}
commit: {git hash}
---
summary: {One-line summary of findings}
structure:
entry_points: [{main.py}, {cli.py}]
key_modules: [{auth.py}, {routes.py}]
test_coverage: [{tests/}]
architecture:
layers:
entry: [{files}]
middle: [{files}]
leaf: [{files}]
circular_deps: [{pairs}]
findings:
- {key finding with file:line}
next_steps:
- {Recommended action based on exploration}
refs:
- path: {file.py}
role: {what it does}

Integration with /build

The explore skill is designed to feed into /build brownfield:

bash
# Step 1: Explore to understand
/explore architecture --output handoff
# Step 2: Build with context from exploration
/build brownfield --from-handoff thoughts/shared/handoffs/session/explore-full.yaml

Implementation

When user invokes /explore <depth> [options]:

Parse Arguments
python
depth = args[0] # quick | deep | architecture
focus = extract_option(args, "--focus")
output = extract_option(args, "--output") # handoff | doc
entry = extract_option(args, "--entry")
Execute Based on Depth

Quick:

bash
# Just tldr commands, no agents
tldr tree ${src_dir} --ext .py
tldr structure ${src_dir} --lang python
if [ -n "$focus" ]; then
tldr search "$focus" ${src_dir}
fi

Deep:

bash
# 1. Check/run onboard
if [ ! -f .claude/cache/tldr/meta.json ]; then
# Spawn onboard agent via Task tool
fi
# 2. Structure
tldr structure src/ --lang python
# 3. Research (spawn scout agent)
# Task tool with subagent_type: "scout"
# Prompt: "Research patterns in ${focus:-codebase}"
# 4. Write output
# → doc or handoff based on --output

Architecture:

bash
# 1. Arch detection
arch_output=$(tldr arch ${src_dir})
# 2. Call graph
calls_output=$(tldr calls ${src_dir})
# 3. Impact from entry (if provided)
if [ -n "$entry" ]; then
impact_output=$(tldr impact $entry ${src_dir} --depth 3)
fi
# 4. Synthesize and write output

Key Principles

  1. READ-ONLY - This skill never modifies code
  2. Uses bounded delegation - Claude may use scout; Codex keeps the parent luna_worker model and does not route to Sonnet/Haiku tiers
  3. Token-efficient - Uses tldr commands (95% savings over raw reads)
  4. Outputs to shared locations - thoughts/shared/research/ or handoff directory
  5. Entry point to /build - Exploration handoffs feed into brownfield builds

Related Skills

SkillWhen to Use
tldr-explorerDirect tldr commands (used internally by explore)
tldr-codeSpecific analysis commands (cfg, dfg, slice)
onboardFirst-time project setup (used by deep depth)
research-codebasePattern documentation (used by deep depth)
create_handoffHandoff format (used by --output handoff)

Troubleshooting

tldr not found:

bash
# Check if installed
which tldr
# Install if missing
uv tool install llm-tldr
# or: pip install llm-tldr

No Python files found:

bash
# Check language, adjust --lang
tldr structure src/ --lang typescript # or go, rust

Empty architecture output:

bash
# May need to specify src directory
tldr arch ./ # Current directory
tldr arch src/ # Explicit src

Security

  • Security scanPassed, 100 of 100Pattern checks on the skill's files.
  • Model reviewNot runA model review is scheduled for the next rescan.

Quality evaluation

  • Task evaluationNot runNo evaluation yet. Run one in Skill Studio.

Source

Popularity

Repository stars
526
Repository forks
45
Repository npm downloads, 7 days
6
7-day trend score
45

Stars and forks are for the whole GitHub repository, not this skill alone. Downloads are for the repository's npm package. Refreshed 30 Apr 2026, 6 months ago.

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