swe:repo-introspection

swe:repo-introspection is a skill for Claude Code from ckorhonen/swe-skills. It costs 106 tokens per session (1,220 once invoked), scanned A, original, MIT.

A guided report for understanding an unfamiliar software repository before making changes. It maps the folder structure, tools, starting points, system boundaries, active areas, and safer places to begin work.

In plain words
What is it for?
Preparing to edit or delegate work in a repository, finding entry points and tooling, understanding project boundaries, and identifying suitable starting areas.
Why use it?
It gives an evidence-based overview of a codebase so you can orient yourself without guessing. It also records unknowns instead of presenting assumptions as facts.

Skill for Claude Code

Written for Claude Code: shipped in a Claude Code plugin.

Part of the swe-skills plugin — 17 skills shipped together

Good fit Preparing to edit or delegate work in a repository, finding entry points and tooling, understanding project boundaries, and identifying suitable starting areas.

Compare 6 skills from other repositories ↓
Install with agentmods
npx agentmods add skills/ckorhonen/swe-skills/repo-introspection
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.

Any agent
npx skills add ckorhonen/swe-skills --skill repo-introspection
Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/ckorhonen/swe-skills

Made for: Claude Code.

Or install swe-skills, the plugin that ships this one along with the rest of its 17 skills.

Wrote this? Show the measurements

A badge with what this costs and how it scanned, read live from this page, so it follows the numbers instead of freezing them. Markdown for a README, HTML for a documentation site or a project page.

agentmods badge for swe:repo-introspection

README.md
[![agentmods](https://agentmods.dev/badge/skills/ckorhonen/swe-skills/repo-introspection/github.svg)](https://agentmods.dev/skills/ckorhonen/swe-skills/repo-introspection)
Your own site
<a href="https://agentmods.dev/skills/ckorhonen/swe-skills/repo-introspection"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/skills/ckorhonen/swe-skills/repo-introspection/github.svg" alt="Measured on agentmods" height="20"></a>

Or the 80×15 button, for a site that already has a row of RSS and ATOM ones. Only the verdict fits; the numbers stay here.

agentmods 80×15 button for swe:repo-introspection

Your own site · 80×15
<a href="https://agentmods.dev/skills/ckorhonen/swe-skills/repo-introspection"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/skills/ckorhonen/swe-skills/repo-introspection.svg" alt="Reviewed on agentmods" width="80" height="20"></a>
Per session 106 Skills are progressive disclosure: only the name and description are preloaded; the body loads when the skill is used.
When invoked 1,220 The whole file, excluding the scripts and references it only reads on demand.
Security scan A 0 findings. A grade says what 26 rules found in the file — not that it is safe.
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 5.1 $0.00106 $0.01220
Opus 5 $0.00053 $0.00610
Sonnet 5 $0.00021 $0.00244
Haiku 4.5 $0.00011 $0.00122

Measured 12d ago against content hash d6d605613acd, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-09-12, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade A, and why

swe:repo-introspection 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 12d 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/repo-introspection/SKILL.md · 212 lines

How it starts

The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 212 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.

SWE Repo Introspection

What This Skill Does

Use this skill to help an engineer or agent become productive in an unfamiliar codebase without guessing.

The report should explain:

  • How the repository is organized
  • How it is likely operated
  • Where the important boundaries are
  • Which surfaces look safest to touch next

When To Use

Use this skill when the user wants to:

  • Understand an unfamiliar repository before editing it
  • Prepare for delegation or planning
  • Map tooling, entry points, and boundaries
  • Find safe starting surfaces for follow-on work

Do Not Use

Do not use this skill for:

  • Implementing a known change request
  • Debugging one specific defect
  • Writing a broad architecture vision that goes beyond visible repo evidence

Inputs To Confirm

Confirm or infer:

  • Repo or package scope
  • Whether the user wants a whole-repo view or only selected directories
  • Whether recent activity or ownership context matters

What To Optimize For

  • Concrete evidence from the repository
  • Fast orientation
  • Clear mental model of the codebase
  • Accurate identification of entry points and working surfaces
  • Explicit unknowns instead of speculation

Instructions

Step 1: Inspect The Root And Primary Docs

Start with the repo root, major directories, and the main documentation files.

Step 2: Identify Tooling And Runtime Shape

Find the main languages, frameworks, package managers, and build or runtime tooling.

Step 3: Locate Entry Points And Boundaries

Find likely entry points such as:

  • App starts
  • Services
  • CLI commands
  • Routes
  • Workers
  • Jobs
  • Library exports

Map the major code surfaces and their responsibilities.

Step 4: Capture Validation And Automation Surfaces

Identify:

  • Test locations
  • Validation commands
  • CI or automation surfaces
  • Generated or machine-managed areas

Step 5: Note Active And Safe Areas

Inspect recent commits when useful to understand active areas or likely ownership.

Then summarize the safest and most relevant surfaces for follow-on work.

Read the full file on GitHub · 212 lines

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. 12d ago First seen · 212 lines · 106 tokens per session scan A d6d605613acd

Subscribe to this mod's changes

swe:repo-introspection is a skill published in the GitHub repository ckorhonen/swe-skills (3 stars, last pushed 1mo ago), licensed MIT. It adds 106 tokens to every session and 1,220 once invoked, about $0.0005 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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