Onboard

Onboard

Goal: read the codebase, produce living documentation. No code changes. No plans. No gap analysis.

living documentation

• README.md : project overview, what it is, who it's for, how to use it. Links to the technical specification.
• docs/tech-spec.md : main technical specification.
• docs/specs/*.md : created by splitting out details from the main spec if they are too bulky or complex. Reference by path from the main spec.

technical specification is declarations only (no narrative), with facts only, no interpretation or plans.

Steps

1. Explore entry points, public interfaces, key dependencies, test patterns, file structure. Read, don't guess.
2. Ask the user about anything ambiguous — never invent architecture.
3. Write living documentation. docs/tech-spec.md uses the canonical format (field meanings: archive skill, "tech-spec format"):

purpose / user / use-case / architecture / stack / entry /
contract / flow / invariant / constraint / convention

Omit milestone — onboard makes no plans. If details are bulky, split into docs/specs/ and link.

4. Confirm with user.

docs/tech-spec.md must contain: stack + at least one contract + at least one convention before done.

Don't

• Invent facts not found in code or README.
• Add gap analysis, plans, or code changes.
• Paste large code blocks — reference by path.

After

docs/tech-spec.md on disk → user continues with normal design → plan → tdd.