explaining-code

A code-explanation guide that helps describe how programs work using diagrams, comparisons, step-by-step walkthroughs, and examples.

In plain words
What is it for?
Use it to explain a function, module, or larger system; teach someone about a codebase; or answer questions such as how code works and why it was written a certain way.
Why use it?
It makes unfamiliar code easier to understand by presenting the same idea in several ways and matching the explanation to the reader’s question and experience.

Skill for Claude CodeCodex

Install

Getting it into your agent

One page per mod, every tool's command on it. A separate URL per tool would split the same page into five that compete with each other.

agentmods
npx agentmods add skills/avinashp/agentsatlas/explaining-code
Any agent
npx skills add AvinashP/AgentsAtlas --skill explaining-code
Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/AvinashP/AgentsAtlas

Made for: Claude Code, Codex.

Per session 35 Skills are progressive disclosure: only the name and description are preloaded; the body loads when the skill is used.
When invoked 1,346 The whole file, excluding the scripts and references it only reads on demand.
Security scan A 0 findings. Scan, not verified.
Origin original No closer match found in the catalogue.
Token cost

What it costs to keep this loaded

Counted locally with the o200k_base tokenizer, which is exact for GPT models; Claude uses its own tokenizer and its counts differ. Treat this as one consistent yardstick across the catalogue rather than a bill. Prices are per million input tokens.

ModelPer sessionOnce invoked
Fable 5 $0.00035 $0.01346
Opus 5 $0.00017 $0.00673
Sonnet 5 $0.00007 $0.00269
Haiku 4.5 $0.00003 $0.00135

Measured 2d ago against content hash 7caa21ce05c8, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-08-30, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade A, and why

explaining-code scanned grade A with 0 findings against 26 rules in 11 categories — prompt injection, anti-refusal, data exfiltration, privilege escalation, supply chain, agent snooping, system-prompt leakage, SSRF and excessive agency — measured 2d ago.

A static scan of the body, not an audit. Every finding is printed with the line that produced it so you can judge whether it matters here. A mod is markdown that instructs an agent; that is exactly why what it instructs is worth reading.

Nothing flagged

None of the 26 patterns this scan looks for appear in this file: no shell pipes, no recursive deletes, no credential paths, no hidden text, no instruction-override or anti-refusal phrasing, no agent-config snooping. That is not a guarantee, it is the absence of the things that are checkable.

skills/explaining-code/SKILL.md · 205 lines

How it starts

The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 205 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.

Explaining Code Skill

Explain code clearly using multiple techniques for different learning styles.

Workflow

1. Understand the Context

Before explaining, understand:

  • What is the user's knowledge level?
  • What specifically do they want to understand?
  • What's the scope? (single function, module, system)

2. Choose Explanation Strategy

If they ask... Start with...
"How does X work?" High-level flow, then details
"What does this code do?" Purpose, then step-by-step
"Why is it written this way?" Problem it solves, alternatives
"I'm confused about..." Clarify specific concept

3. Build the Explanation

Layer your explanation:

  1. One sentence summary - What is the core purpose?
  2. Analogy - Relate to something familiar
  3. Visual diagram - Show structure/flow
  4. Walk through - Step by step with code
  5. Key concepts - Highlight important patterns

4. Use Multiple Representations

Different people learn differently:

  • Visual learners: Diagrams, flowcharts
  • Sequential learners: Step-by-step walkthrough
  • Conceptual learners: Analogies, mental models
  • Hands-on learners: Example usage, experiments to try

Explanation Techniques

The Zoom Technique

Start wide, then zoom in:

System Level:  "This app handles user authentication"
     ↓
Module Level:  "This module manages sessions"
     ↓
Function Level: "This function validates tokens"
     ↓
Line Level:    "This line checks expiration"

The Analogy Technique

Connect to familiar concepts:

Code Concept Real-world Analogy
API Restaurant menu + waiter
Cache Sticky notes on your desk
Database Filing cabinet
Queue Line at a store
Stack Stack of plates
Hash table Library index cards
Middleware Security checkpoint
Event loop Receptionist handling calls
Promise IOU note
Closure Backpack carrying supplies

Read the full file on GitHub · 205 lines

Files

What ships with it

1 file beside SKILL.md in the same directory: the scripts, references and assets a skill reads on demand. Not counted in the per-session cost; read them before you install if any of them is executable.

Changes

What this file has done since we first saw it

Hashed on every crawl. A supply-chain change to an agent config is a question of when, not whether, so the history is kept rather than the latest state alone.

  1. 2d ago First seen · 205 lines · 35 tokens per session scan A 7caa21ce05c8

Subscribe to this mod's changes

explaining-code is a skill published in the GitHub repository AvinashP/AgentsAtlas (7 stars, last pushed 3mo ago), licensed MIT. It adds 35 tokens to every session and 1,346 once invoked, about $0.0002 per session on Opus 5. A static security scan graded it A with 0 findings. No closer match exists in the catalogue, so it is treated as the original; first seen 2026-08-31.

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