Maps an unfamiliar codebase and produces seven structured onboarding documents — everything a new team member needs to work effectively on the project, grounded entirely in what the files and tooling actually show.
- Onboarding onto a codebase you haven't worked in before.
- Producing architecture documentation for a team or reviewer.
- Auditing a project's structure, conventions, and concerns before a large change.
Not for routine feature work, bug fixes, or narrow code edits.
Claude Code:
/acquire-codebase-knowledge
GitHub Copilot Chat:
#file:.github/skills/acquire-codebase-knowledge/SKILL.md map this codebase
Optionally supply a focus area — e.g. architecture only or testing and concerns — to prioritise those documents first while still producing the full set.
Seven documents written to docs/codebase/:
| Document | Content |
|---|---|
STACK.md |
Languages, frameworks, runtimes, and key dependencies |
STRUCTURE.md |
Directory layout and project organisation |
ARCHITECTURE.md |
Architectural style, layers, component relationships |
CONVENTIONS.md |
Coding standards, naming, patterns in use |
INTEGRATIONS.md |
External services, APIs, and infrastructure dependencies |
TESTING.md |
Test strategy, frameworks, and coverage approach |
CONCERNS.md |
Known issues, gaps, tech debt, and open questions |
Every claim is traceable to a source file or terminal output. Unknowns are marked [TODO]; intent-dependent decisions are marked [ASK USER] and surfaced at the end of the run.
- SKILL.md — full 4-phase workflow, output contract, and focus-area mode detail.