Analyzing Projects Skill

This skill provides patterns and techniques for understanding unfamiliar codebases and project structures.

Quick Reconnaissance

1. Project Type Detection

Check for key files to identify the project type:

File	Indicates
package.json	Node.js project
pyproject.toml	Modern Python project
requirements.txt	Python project
go.mod	Go project
Cargo.toml	Rust project
pom.xml	Java Maven project
build.gradle	Java Gradle project
Gemfile	Ruby project

2. Framework Detection

File/Pattern	Framework
next.config.js	Next.js
vite.config.ts	Vite
angular.json	Angular
src/App.vue	Vue.js
manage.py	Django
app.py / Flask imports	Flask
main.go	Go
src/main.rs	Rust

3. Architecture Patterns

Look for these directory structures:

# Monolith
src/
  models/
  views/
  controllers/

# Microservices
services/
  user-service/
  order-service/
  payment-service/

# Domain-Driven Design
src/
  domain/
  application/
  infrastructure/

# Feature-based
src/
  features/
    auth/
    dashboard/
    settings/

Key Files to Read First

1. /strategy/VISION.md - Strategic context (if exists)
2. /strategy/OKRs.md - Current priorities (if exists)
3. /strategy/adrs/ - Architecture decisions (if exists)
4. README.md - Project overview and setup
5. package.json / pyproject.toml - Dependencies and scripts
6. docker-compose.yml - Services and infrastructure
7. .env.example - Required configuration
8. Makefile / justfile - Available commands

Strategy Folder (if present)

If a /strategy/ folder exists, prioritize reading:

File	Purpose
VISION.md	North star, strategic bets, non-goals
OKRs.md	Current quarter objectives
epics/*.md	Active feature initiatives
tasks/*.md	Specific work items
adrs/*.md	Settled architectural decisions

Mapping Dependencies

External Dependencies

# Python
cat pyproject.toml | grep -A 100 "\[dependencies\]"

# Node
cat package.json | jq '.dependencies, .devDependencies'

Internal Dependencies

# Find imports
grep -rh "^import\|^from" src/ | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn

# Find module usage
grep -rn "from src\." . --include="*.py"

Understanding Data Flow

1. Entry points - Where requests come in
2. Routes/Controllers - Request handling
3. Services - Business logic
4. Models - Data structures
5. Repositories - Data access
6. External APIs - Outbound calls

Common Patterns to Identify

Authentication

• JWT tokens
• Session-based
• OAuth providers

Database

• ORM (SQLAlchemy, Prisma, TypeORM)
• Raw SQL
• NoSQL (MongoDB, Redis)

API Style

• REST
• GraphQL
• gRPC
• WebSocket

Testing Strategy

• Unit tests
• Integration tests
• E2E tests

Analysis Checklist

• Does a /strategy/ folder exist? If so, read VISION.md and OKRs.md first.
• Are there ADRs in /strategy/adrs/? These contain settled decisions.
• What type of project is this?
• What framework(s) are used?
• What is the directory structure pattern?
• What are the main entry points?
• What are the key dependencies?
• How is configuration managed?
• What testing approach is used?
• How is the project built and deployed?