Codebase Documenter Skill for Claude

Codebase Documenter

Generates comprehensive documentation for codebases - architecture, components, data flow, development guidelines.

When to Use

• "explain this codebase"
• "document the architecture"
• "how does this code work"
• "create developer documentation"
• "generate codebase overview"
• "create onboarding docs"

What It Documents

1. Project Overview

• Purpose & vision
• Target users
• Key features
• Technology stack
• Project status

2. Architecture

• High-level structure
• Design patterns
• Data flow
• Control flow
• Diagrams (Mermaid)
• Architectural decisions

3. Directory Structure

• Organization purpose
• Naming conventions
• Entry points
• Core modules
• Configuration locations

4. Key Components

• Major modules
• Classes & functions
• Responsibilities
• Interactions
• Extension points
• Code examples

5. External Integrations

• APIs consumed
• Databases & schemas
• Authentication
• Caching
• Message queues
• File storage

6. Data Models

• Database schema
• Data structures
• Validation
• Migrations
• Data transformations

7. Development Setup

• Prerequisites
• Installation steps
• Configuration
• Running the app
• Testing
• Debugging
• Troubleshooting

8. Development Guidelines

• Coding conventions
• Testing approach
• Error handling
• Logging
• Security practices
• Performance patterns

9. Deployment

• Build process
• Deployment steps
• Environments
• Monitoring
• Rollback procedures

10. Contributing

• Development workflow
• Code review guidelines
• Testing requirements
• Documentation updates

Approach

• Explore using Explore agent (thorough)
• Map structure with Glob
• Read critical files (README, entry points, core modules)
• Identify patterns with Grep (imports, exports)
• Trace execution paths
• Extract knowledge from docs, comments, tests
• Synthesize into cohesive documentation

Output

Creates markdown documentation:

docs/
├── README.md              # Overview and quick start
├── ARCHITECTURE.md        # System architecture
├── DEVELOPMENT.md         # Development guide
├── API.md                 # API documentation
├── DEPLOYMENT.md          # Deployment guide
└── CONTRIBUTING.md        # Contribution guidelines

Or single comprehensive doc if preferred.

Depth Levels

• Quick: High-level overview (15-30 min)
• Standard: Comprehensive coverage (30-60 min)
• Deep: Exhaustive with examples (60+ min)

Visual Elements

• Mermaid diagrams (architecture, flow charts, sequence)
• Code examples from codebase
• Specific file:line references
• Tables for structured info
• Lists for guidelines

Tools Used

• Task (Explore agent): Codebase exploration
• Glob: Map directory structure
• Grep: Find patterns, imports, exports
• Read: Analyze key files
• Write: Create documentation
• Bash: Extract metadata (git log, versions)

Success Criteria

• Complete coverage of all areas
• Clear explanations with examples
• Visual diagrams for complex concepts
• Specific file:line references
• Actionable setup/development instructions
• New developer can onboard using only docs
• Organized, navigable structure
• Accurate and current information

Integration

• code-auditor: Includes quality/security context
• project-bootstrapper: Documents bootstrap decisions
• visual-html-creator: Create visual diagrams