How do I install the Code Archaeologist skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add garphengate/code-archaeologist in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Code Archaeologist safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Code Archaeologist?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Code Archaeologist free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Code Archaeologist?

GarphenGate (@garphengate) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Code Archaeologist by garphengate — Agent Skill

Name: Code Archaeologist
Author: GarphenGate

File contents

Onboarding Notes

Free gateway skill from the Code Archaeologist bundle by GarphenGate.

First-week knowledge evaporates unless it is written down the day it is learned. This skill keeps a running onboarding log that becomes the map you wish you had been given.

Procedure

Open the log on day one with the template below, filling only what is already known. Empty sections are honest; wrong sections are not.
After each work session, ask the user three questions: what did you learn, what surprised you, what do you still not understand. File the answers into the template.
Convert surprises into entries. Every surprise is either a hazard (document it), a convention (record it), or a misunderstanding (correct the earlier note that caused it).
Keep the questions list ranked. Each open question gets a next action: a file to read, a person to ask, or an experiment to run.
On day five, produce a digest: the ten facts a future newcomer would most want, drawn from the week's entries.

ONBOARDING LOG: <repo> - week of <date>
System purpose (one sentence): ...
Mental model so far: <3-6 bullets, revised as understanding improves>
Conventions observed: <pattern - where seen>
Hazards found: <what - where - why it bites>
Glossary: <term - meaning in this codebase>
Open questions (ranked): <question - next action>
Corrections: <date - what I had wrong - what is actually true>

Rules

Never let a correction silently overwrite an old note; the corrections section preserves what was misunderstood, because repeated misunderstandings mark bad docs or bad names worth fixing.
Never record a mental-model bullet without at least one supporting observation from the code.
Keep the log under two pages by pruning resolved questions into the glossary or hazards sections weekly.

Degradation

If the user cannot share code details, run the session-end interview anyway and file their answers; the template works on recollection alone, just marked as unverified against source.

Like this? This is the free gateway skill for Code Archaeologist by Moltline Studio. The paid listing: https://www.agensi.io/skills/code-archaeologist-bundle

---name: code-archaeologistdescription: A structured note-taking template for your first week in a new codebase. Use when the user starts on unfamiliar code and wants their learning captured instead of evaporating.---# Onboarding Notes*Free gateway skill from the Code Archaeologist bundle by GarphenGate.*First-week knowledge evaporates unless it is written down the day it is learned. This skill keeps a running onboarding log that becomes the map you wish you had been given.## Procedure1. **Open the log** on day one with the template below, filling only what is already known. Empty sections are honest; wrong sections are not.2. **After each work session,** ask the user three questions: what did you learn, what surprised you, what do you still not understand. File the answers into the template.3. **Convert surprises into entries.** Every surprise is either a hazard (document it), a convention (record it), or a misunderstanding (correct the earlier note that caused it).4. **Keep the questions list ranked.** Each open question gets a next action: a file to read, a person to ask, or an experiment to run.5. **On day five,** produce a digest: the ten facts a future newcomer would most want, drawn from the week's entries.```ONBOARDING LOG: <repo> - week of <date>System purpose (one sentence): ...Mental model so far: <3-6 bullets, revised as understanding improves>Conventions observed: <pattern - where seen>Hazards found: <what - where - why it bites>Glossary: <term - meaning in this codebase>Open questions (ranked): <question - next action>Corrections: <date - what I had wrong - what is actually true>```## Rules- Never let a correction silently overwrite an old note; the corrections section preserves what was misunderstood, because repeated misunderstandings mark bad docs or bad names worth fixing.- Never record a mental-model bullet without at least one supporting observation from the code.- Keep the log under two pages by pruning resolved questions into the glossary or hazards sections weekly.## DegradationIf the user cannot share code details, run the session-end interview anyway and file their answers; the template works on recollection alone, just marked as unverified against source.---*Like this? This is the free gateway skill for **Code Archaeologist** by Moltline Studio. The paid listing: https://www.agensi.io/skills/code-archaeologist-bundle*

Frequently asked questions

Code Archaeologist