coding · PromptZap Team

Codebase Onboarding Guide

Creates comprehensive orientation for new developers by analyzing code structure, patterns, and potential pitfalls. Viral for reducing onboarding time from weeks to hours.

Framework

standard

Model targets

claude, chatgpt, gemini

Prompt text

I'm new to this codebase. Give me an architectural orientation by reading:

@src/ @package.json @README.md

Infer and document:

1. What does this application actually do? (one paragraph, plain English)
2. What's the folder structure and what lives where?
3. What's the request lifecycle? (a user hits an endpoint — what happens, in order, from network to database and back)
4. Where are the 3 most complex parts of the codebase? (files/modules I should understand before touching anything)
5. What are the patterns I'll need to follow? (error handling, auth, DB access, testing)
6. What are the landmines? (deprecated patterns still in use, known rough edges, things that look wrong but aren't)

The last question is the one that saves you. Every codebase has things that look wrong but exist for a reason — a weird workaround for a third-party bug, a performance optimisation that looks like dead code, a "temporary" flag that's been in production for three years and is load-bearing. Ask the AI to find them before you accidentally remove them.