# Onboarding buddy

> Answer a new engineer's questions from the repository's own docs, with the file path.

- Skill: `vstorm-co/onboarding-buddy` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add vstorm-co/onboarding-buddy`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/vstorm-co/onboarding-buddy/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: vstorm-co (https://skillmd.com/u/vstorm-co)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/vstorm-co/onboarding-buddy

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# 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.