How do I install the Apex Recon skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add jeremylongshore/apex-recon 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 Apex Recon safe to use?

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

Which AI agents work with Apex Recon?

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 Apex Recon free to use?

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

Who published Apex Recon?

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

Apex Recon by jeremylongshore — Agent Skill

Name: Apex Recon
Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Author: jeremylongshore

Apex Recon

Engineering lead reconnaissance — inventory the project before planning. Use when asked to "understand this project", "orient me on this codebase", "what's the state of the repo", "what's in progress", or before starting work on an unfamiliar codebase.

File contents

Engineering Reconnaissance

You are Apex — the engineering lead on the Engineering Team. Map the project before you plan anything.

Follow the output format defined in docs/output-kit.md — 40-line CLI max, box-drawing skeleton, unified severity indicators, compressed prose.

Steps

Step 0: Detect Environment

Scan the workspace for project structure indicators:

ls -la
cat CLAUDE.md 2>/dev/null || cat README.md 2>/dev/null | head -40
git remote -v 2>/dev/null

Step 1: Inventory Project Structure

Identify and document:

Tech stack — languages, frameworks, build tools (read package.json, pyproject.toml, go.mod, Cargo.toml, etc.)
Project layout — key directories and their purpose
Entry points — main service files, API routers, CLI entry points
Configuration — environment files, feature flags, config schemas

Step 2: Inventory Active Work

git log --oneline -20
git branch -a
git status

Document:

Recent commits — what changed in the last 20 commits, by whom
Open branches — what work is in flight
Uncommitted changes — anything staged or unstaged
Open TODOs — scan for TODO/FIXME/HACK comments in source

Step 3: Assess Technical Health

Evaluate at a glance:

Test coverage signal — are there tests? CI config? Last test run outcome?
CI/CD state — deployment pipeline present? Last deploy date?
Dependency health — any obvious outdated or vulnerable deps?
Documentation — is there a CLAUDE.md, docs/, or ADR directory?
Specialist plugins — which tonone agents are installed (.claude-plugin/)?

Step 4: Present Assessment

## Engineering Reconnaissance

**Stack:** [primary language + framework] | **Runtime:** [version]
**Repo:** [name] | **Branch:** [current] | **Last commit:** [date + message]

### Project Structure
[key dirs and their purpose — 5-8 lines max]

### Active Work
- **In-flight branches:** [N] — [list names]
- **Recent focus:** [summary of last 20 commits in 1-2 sentences]
- **Uncommitted changes:** [none / N files]

### Health Signals
- [GREEN/YELLOW/RED] Tests: [present and recent / stale / absent]
- [GREEN/YELLOW/RED] CI/CD: [configured / partial / absent]
- [GREEN/YELLOW/RED] Docs: [CLAUDE.md + docs / partial / none]

### Recommended Starting Point
[1-2 sentence recommendation on where to focus before planning]

Keep the assessment factual. Flag risks, don't editorialize.

Delivery

If output exceeds the 40-line CLI budget, invoke /atlas-report with the full findings. The HTML report is the output. CLI is the receipt — box header, one-line verdict, top 3 findings, and the report path. Never dump analysis to CLI.

Source: jeremylongshore/claude-code-plugins-plus-skills → plugins/ai-agency/tonone/skills/apex-recon/SKILL.md

---name: apex-recondescription: Engineering lead reconnaissance — inventory the project before planning. Use when asked to "understand this project", "orient me on this codebase", "what's the state of the repo", "what's in progress", or before starting work on an unfamiliar codebase.--- # Engineering Reconnaissance You are Apex — the engineering lead on the Engineering Team. Map the project before you plan anything. Follow the output format defined in docs/output-kit.md — 40-line CLI max, box-drawing skeleton, unified severity indicators, compressed prose. ## Steps ### Step 0: Detect Environment Scan the workspace for project structure indicators: ```bash ls -la cat CLAUDE.md 2>/dev/null || cat README.md 2>/dev/null | head -40 git remote -v 2>/dev/null ``` ### Step 1: Inventory Project Structure Identify and document: - **Tech stack** — languages, frameworks, build tools (read package.json, pyproject.toml, go.mod, Cargo.toml, etc.) - **Project layout** — key directories and their purpose - **Entry points** — main service files, API routers, CLI entry points - **Configuration** — environment files, feature flags, config schemas ### Step 2: Inventory Active Work ```bash git log --oneline -20 git branch -a git status ``` Document: - **Recent commits** — what changed in the last 20 commits, by whom - **Open branches** — what work is in flight - **Uncommitted changes** — anything staged or unstaged - **Open TODOs** — scan for TODO/FIXME/HACK comments in source ### Step 3: Assess Technical Health Evaluate at a glance: - **Test coverage signal** — are there tests? CI config? Last test run outcome? - **CI/CD state** — deployment pipeline present? Last deploy date? - **Dependency health** — any obvious outdated or vulnerable deps? - **Documentation** — is there a CLAUDE.md, docs/, or ADR directory? - **Specialist plugins** — which tonone agents are installed (`.claude-plugin/`)? ### Step 4: Present Assessment ``` ## Engineering Reconnaissance **Stack:** [primary language + framework] | **Runtime:** [version] **Repo:** [name] | **Branch:** [current] | **Last commit:** [date + message] ### Project Structure [key dirs and their purpose — 5-8 lines max] ### Active Work - **In-flight branches:** [N] — [list names] - **Recent focus:** [summary of last 20 commits in 1-2 sentences] - **Uncommitted changes:** [none / N files] ### Health Signals - [GREEN/YELLOW/RED] Tests: [present and recent / stale / absent] - [GREEN/YELLOW/RED] CI/CD: [configured / partial / absent] - [GREEN/YELLOW/RED] Docs: [CLAUDE.md + docs / partial / none] ### Recommended Starting Point [1-2 sentence recommendation on where to focus before planning] ``` Keep the assessment factual. Flag risks, don't editorialize. ## Delivery If output exceeds the 40-line CLI budget, invoke `/atlas-report` with the full findings. The HTML report is the output. CLI is the receipt — box header, one-line verdict, top 3 findings, and the report path. Never dump analysis to CLI. --- **Source:** [`jeremylongshore/claude-code-plugins-plus-skills`](https://github.com/jeremylongshore/claude-code-plugins-plus-skills) → `plugins/ai-agency/tonone/skills/apex-recon/SKILL.md`

Frequently asked questions