What is the RPI framework?

RPI stands for Research-Plan-Implement. It is a disciplined engineering framework that ensures thorough understanding and planning occur before any code is actually written.

Does this skill support external documentation research?

Yes, it utilizes a web-researcher sub-agent to investigate external APIs, third-party libraries, and security best practices relevant to your codebase.

Why does the skill ask questions before looking at my code?

This 'Iron Law' prevents the AI from making incorrect assumptions. By clarifying the purpose, scope, and constraints first, the research phase becomes significantly more accurate and efficient.

Where are the research results saved?

Findings are automatically compiled into a standardized markdown file located in your project's docs/plans/ directory, dated for easy reference.

Codebase Research & Exploration

Name: Codebase Research & Exploration
Author: bostonaholic

bybostonaholic

•

Productivity & Workflow

Performs disciplined codebase interrogation and architectural analysis using the Research-Plan-Implement (RPI) framework.

The Researching Codebase skill provides a systematic methodology for exploring unfamiliar or complex repositories before making any code changes. It enforces a 'question-first' approach to ensure the problem space is fully understood, followed by structured exploration using specialized sub-agents for file discovery and external research. By documenting findings in a standardized format, this skill helps developers build a solid foundation of context, identify technical constraints, and validate implementation patterns before the planning phase begins.

Key Features

01Incremental findings presentation with collaborative feedback loops

02Mandatory clarification phase to align on scope and constraints

03Standardized markdown research document generation

04Automated file discovery with structured reading order reports

05Integrated web research for external library and API documentation

062 GitHub stars

Use Cases

01Onboarding to a new or legacy codebase to understand its architecture

02Investigating complex data flows and side effects before a major refactor

03Gathering context and identifying existing patterns for a new feature request

What are Skills?·How to Install

Install with 🐟 Skill.Fish

npx skillfish add bostonaholic/rpikit researching-codebase

For use in Claude.ai and ChatGPT

Download Skill