Repo Understanding

Skill: Repository Understanding

Purpose

Before making changes, understand how the repo is organized, what commands it provides, how tests run, and what conventions the team follows.

When to Use This Skill

• Starting work on a new repository
• Onboarding to a project
• Planning a large refactoring or feature
• Before making cross-cutting changes

Steps

1) Understand the directory structure

Read the repo root and understand:

• /crates, /src, /packages: source code directories
• /tests, /test: test files
• /docs: documentation
• /scripts: build/CI scripts
• /infra, /deploy: infrastructure/deployment configs
• /assets, /static: non-code files

Example output:

markenz/
  crates/           # Rust libraries (physics, world, rng)
  apps/             # Rust applications (engine)
  tests/            # Integration tests
  docs/             # Documentation
  observability/    # Logging schemas and conventions
  runbooks/         # Incident response playbooks
  scripts/ci/       # CI helper scripts

2) Read the AGENTS.md file

This is the authoritative source for:

• Canonical commands (lint, test, format, typecheck, build)
• Directory-scoped rules and conventions
• How to run the project locally
• How to contribute

Example:

# Canonical Commands
- cargo build           # Build all crates
- cargo test --all      # Run all tests
- cargo clippy --all    # Linter

3) Identify main entrypoints

For applications:

• Which files are the main entry points? (main.rs, index.js, server.py)
• How does the app start? (CLI args, env vars, configs)
• What are the key services or modules?

For libraries:

• What is the public API? (exported functions, types, classes)
• What are the main invariants and constraints?

4) Understand the dependency graph

• What external dependencies does the project use?
• Which modules depend on which?
• Are there circular dependencies or tight coupling?

Example (Rust):

cargo tree

5) Review the test structure

• Where are tests located? (same file, separate directory, docs)
• How do you run tests? (npm test, pytest, cargo test)
• Are there separate test suites? (unit, integration, e2e)
• What's the coverage target?

6) Understand the build/CI process

• How does the code get built? (npm, cargo, Python setuptools)
• What CI system is used? (.github/workflows, GitLab CI, etc.)
• What are the quality gates? (linters, type checkers, tests)
• How are artifacts packaged and released?

Example:

cat .github/workflows/ci.yml | grep "run:" | head -10

7) Identify the tech stack

• Language(s): JavaScript, Rust, Python, etc.
• Frameworks: React, Express, Django, Actix, etc.
• Databases: PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis, etc.
• Testing: Jest, pytest, cargo test, etc.
• CI: GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, etc.

8) Review the GLOBAL_RULES or standards

Read the governance files:

• AGENTS.md (repo-level rules)
• GLOBAL_RULES.md (shared across team)
• .windsurf/ (Windsurf-specific conventions)

Understand:

• Code style guidelines
• Security requirements (secrets, validation, redaction)
• Observability requirements (logging, metrics, tracing)
• Test coverage targets
• Documentation standards

9) Capture key mental models

Document these in your head:

• Data flow: How does data enter, flow through, and exit the system?
• Error paths: How are failures handled and logged?
• Concurrency model: Is it single-threaded, multi-threaded, async?
• Deployment: How does code get to production?

10) Ask clarifying questions

If anything is unclear:

• Check the README and docs
• Look for comments in key files
• Check the git log for recent changes
• Ask the team or open issues

Quality Checklist

• Directory structure understood
• AGENTS.md read and key commands identified
• Main entrypoints identified
• Dependency graph understood
• Test structure known
• Build/CI process clear
• Tech stack documented
• Governance rules reviewed
• Data flow understood
• Can run tests locally

Verification Commands

# Understand structure
ls -la
cat AGENTS.md
cat README.md

# Identify commands
grep -r "\"scripts\":" package.json | head -20
cat Justfile | grep "^[a-z]"
grep "^##" AGENTS.md | head -20

# Run a basic test
npm test
cargo test --lib
python -m pytest

# Check dependencies
cargo tree | head -50
npm list | head -50

# Understand CI
cat .github/workflows/ci.yml | head -30

KAIZA-AUDIT Compliance

When using this skill as part of another task, your KAIZA-AUDIT block should include:

• Scope: Modules/areas touched
• Key Decisions: Explain how your changes respect the repo's conventions and tech stack
• Verification: Confirm commands from AGENTS.md pass (lint, tests, etc.)