
explore
Meta-skill for internal codebase exploration at varying depths (quick/deep/architecture)
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Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/parcadei/continuous-claude-v3 --skill explore- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads explore automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
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
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"):
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
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
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
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:
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
| Depth | Time | What it does |
|---|---|---|
quick | ~1 min | tldr-explorer only - fast structure overview |
deep | ~5 min | onboard + tldr-explorer + research-codebase + write doc |
architecture | ~3 min | tldr arch + call graph + layer mapping + circular dep detection |
Options
| Option | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
--focus "area" | Focus on specific area | --focus "auth", --focus "api" |
--output handoff | Create handoff for next agent | --output handoff |
--output doc | Create documentation file | --output doc |
--entry "func" | Start from specific entry point | --entry "main", --entry "process_request" |
Examples
# 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:
- Run
tldr treefor file structure - Run
tldr structurefor codemaps - If
--focusprovided, runtldr searchfor targeted results - Return summary
Commands:
# 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:
- Check if onboarded (look for
.claude/cache/tldr/), if not run onboard - Run tldr-explorer for structure
- Spawn research-codebase agent for patterns
- 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:
- Run
tldr archfor layer detection - Run
tldr callsfor cross-file call graph - Analyze entry/middle/leaf layers
- Detect circular dependencies
- Map architectural boundaries
Commands:
# 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:
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
---
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
---
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:
# 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
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:
# 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:
# 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 ${focus:-codebase}"
# 4. Write output
# → doc or handoff based on --output
Architecture:
# 1. Arch detection
arch_output=$(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
- READ-ONLY - This skill never modifies code
- Uses scout, not Explore - Per project rules, scout (Sonnet) over Explore (Haiku)
- Token-efficient - Uses tldr commands (95% savings over raw reads)
- Outputs to shared locations -
thoughts/shared/research/or handoff directory - Entry point to /build - Exploration handoffs feed into brownfield builds
Related Skills
| Skill | When to Use |
|---|---|
| tldr-explorer | Direct tldr commands (used internally by explore) |
| tldr-code | Specific analysis commands (cfg, dfg, slice) |
| onboard | First-time project setup (used by deep depth) |
| research-codebase | Pattern documentation (used by deep depth) |
| create_handoff | Handoff format (used by --output handoff) |
Troubleshooting
tldr not found:
# Check if installed
which tldr
# Install if missing
uv tool install llm-tldr
# or: pip install llm-tldr
No Python files found:
# Check language, adjust --lang
tldr structure src/ --lang typescript # or go, rust
Empty architecture output:
# May need to specify src directory
tldr arch ./ # Current directory
tldr arch src/ # Explicit src
FAQ
What does the explore skill do?
Meta-skill for internal codebase exploration at varying depths (quick/deep/architecture)
How do I install explore?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/parcadei/continuous-claude-v3 --skill explore in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/explore/ (personal) or .claude/skills/explore/ (project).
Which AI agents can use explore?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is explore safe to install?
No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.
Who maintains explore?
It is published by parcadei in parcadei/continuous-claude-v3. It has 577 recorded installs.
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