Orient Repo

orient-repo

Use this when you first land in a repo you do not know. Build a read-only map of what the project is, how it builds and tests, where the code lives, and which conventions matter. Hand that map to plan-change.

When to use it

• The first task in a repo you have not worked in, or after a long gap.
• Before plan-change when the layout, build, or test commands are unknown.
• Not on a repo you already know well; skip straight to planning.

Required inputs

• Read access to the repo.
• The task or goal, so the map can note which areas it touches.

Steps

1. Read the entry docs: README, CONTRIBUTING, and any agent guide such as CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, or .cursor/rules.
2. Find the build, test, and lint commands in the package manifest, CI config, and any Makefile or task runner. Note the language and version floor.
3. Map the layout: source directories, test directories, config, and where a change like this belongs.
4. Note the conventions: commit and branch model, formatter, and any voice or structure rules.
5. Locate the area the task touches and name the files a change would likely involve. Do not edit them.

Output format

• What it is: one or two sentences.
• Build and test: the exact commands, copied from the source that defines them.
• Layout: the directories that matter, one line each.
• Conventions: the commit, branch, and style rules to follow.
• For this task: the area and the likely files.

Stop conditions

• Stop when a newcomer could build, test, and place a change from the map alone.
• Report a command only if you found where the repo defines it. Do not invent one.
• Do not edit any file. This is a read-only map; the change is plan-change's job.