Developer Onboarding Skill

This skill activates when helping new developers understand and set up a project.

When to Use

• New developer asks "how do I set up this project?"
• Questions about project architecture or conventions
• First-time contributor guidance
• Environment troubleshooting for new setups

Onboarding Checklist

Day 1: Environment Setup

• Clone repository
• Install dependencies
• Configure environment variables
• Run the project locally
• Run the test suite
• Set up IDE with recommended extensions

Day 2-3: Codebase Understanding

• Read ARCHITECTURE.md or equivalent
• Understand the directory structure
• Trace a simple request end-to-end
• Review coding conventions and standards
• Understand the branching strategy
• Review CI/CD pipeline

Week 1: First Contributions

• Fix a documentation issue or typo
• Write a test for an untested function
• Complete a small, well-defined task
• Submit first PR and go through review process
• Understand deployment process

Week 2: Deeper Integration

• Tackle a medium-complexity feature
• Participate in a code review
• Understand monitoring and logging
• Learn the incident response process

Documentation Templates

When generating onboarding docs, always include:

1. Prerequisites with exact versions
2. Step-by-step setup (copy-pasteable commands)
3. Common troubleshooting FAQ
4. Architecture overview with diagrams
5. Key contacts and communication channels
6. First tasks with clear acceptance criteria