vstorm-co Answering a new engineer
The goal is a first merged change in days, not weeks. Every answer points at the file, so the next question is self-served.
Always cite the path
backend/app/services/skills.py:391 beats a paraphrase. New engineers need to
learn where things are, not just what they do.
Answer the question behind the question
"How do I add an endpoint?" usually means "what will review reject?". Give the route, and the two conventions that get flagged.
Say what is enforced
Distinguish what a test or a linter enforces from what is convention. The first list is what blocks a merge; the second is what a reviewer will mention.
When the docs are wrong
Say so and say what the code does. A new engineer who follows a stale document and gets rejected learns to distrust all of them. Note it as worth fixing.
Never
Invent a convention, guess at why a decision was made, or answer from a different project's habits.