Synapse: Skill for Claude Code

.claude/skills/codebase-transition/SKILL.md

codebase-transition is a skill for Claude Code from JosephOIbrahim/Synapse. It costs 95 tokens per session (1,196 once invoked), scanned A, original, MIT.

A transition guide for entering a new codebase or moving work between tools and agents. It begins with orientation—where the project is, what is being changed, and how far the task has progressed—before giving implementation steps.

In plain words
What is it for?
Use it when a new repository is mentioned, setup begins, a blueprint is handed over, or work moves to Claude Code or another coding environment.
Why use it?
Starting directly in an unfamiliar repository creates avoidable confusion and costly mistakes. The guide adds a small ramp-up so the agent understands its location, scope, and current phase.

Skill for Claude Code

Written for Claude Code: installed under .claude/. Also seen: reads .claude/ paths; mentions CLAUDE.md; mentions Claude Code.

This is JosephOIbrahim/Synapse's own configuration. It tells Claude Code how to work on Synapse itself, so it is not a mod to install elsewhere. Copy it as a starting point and replace the rules that are about this project. Everything Synapse configures →

Reuse

Borrowing it

Nothing to install: this file belongs to JosephOIbrahim/Synapse. Take a copy, put it at the same path in your own repository, and replace the rules that are about this project with yours.

Copy the file
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/JosephOIbrahim/Synapse/master/.claude/skills/codebase-transition/SKILL.md
Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/JosephOIbrahim/Synapse

Made for: Claude Code.

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 codebase-transition

README.md
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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 codebase-transition

Your own site · 80×15
<a href="https://agentmods.dev/skills/josephoibrahim/synapse/codebase-transition"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/skills/josephoibrahim/synapse/codebase-transition.svg" alt="Reviewed on agentmods" width="80" height="20"></a>
Per session 95 Skills are progressive disclosure: only the name and description are preloaded; the body loads when the skill is used.
When invoked 1,196 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 $0.00095 $0.01196
Opus 5.5 $0.00038 $0.00478
Sonnet 5.5 $0.00019 $0.00239
Haiku 4.5 $0.00010 $0.00120

Measured 1mo ago against content hash 0923572df35a, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-10-07, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade A, and why

codebase-transition 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 1mo 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.

.claude/skills/codebase-transition/SKILL.md · 145 lines

How it starts

The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 145 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.

codebase-transition

Going INTO a codebase. Sea level (in CLAUDE.md) covers coming OUT of a build. Complementary, no overlap.

Transitions are sensitive. Altitude + tool changes compound load. Slow down, don't push through.


Triggers

Load this skill the moment any of these appear:

  • A new repo, codebase, or install is mentioned
  • Install / setup language ("get this running", "need to get into this")
  • An .md blueprint is handed over
  • Work is moving to Claude Code
  • Desktop-to-Code handoff

Stuck Taxonomy row: startup cost - signals: new repo/codebase, "need to get into this". Intervention: this skill. Never: launch into steps.


1. The Startup-Cost Ramp

Respect startup costs. New large tasks need a ramp. Don't push through it.

The ramp is announced, not hidden. Name it before the first step:

"New codebase - ramping in before we touch anything."

Then orientation before steps. Not explanation - orientation.

  • Where we are (directory, repo)
  • What we're working on (file)
  • How far to finish (step X of Y)

Momentum phase at a transition is cold_start: start small, no complex decisions, route toward low-activation work first (research, reading the tree) before implementation.

Never open with a numbered list of install commands. Orient first, then steps.


2. "You Are Here" Markers

Disorientation > difficulty. The depleting factor in an unfamiliar environment is losing orientation, not complexity.

Provide progress checkpoints proactively. The marker shape:

"We're in [directory], working on [file], [X] of [Y] steps complete."

Rules:

  • Every step carries a marker. Joe never has to ask "where am I?"
  • Marker first, then the step. Orientation precedes action.
  • Stuck Taxonomy row disoriented ("where am I"): "you are here" markers, orientation first. Don't explain - orient.
  • Working memory in AI/coding (growth domain) is low: 3 items if fundamentally new. Externalize to written lists immediately.

Read the full file on GitHub · 145 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. 1mo ago First seen · 145 lines · 95 tokens per session scan A 0923572df35a

Subscribe to this mod's changes

codebase-transition is a skill published in the GitHub repository JosephOIbrahim/Synapse (12 stars, last pushed today), licensed MIT. It adds 95 tokens to every session and 1,196 once invoked, about $0.0004 per session on Opus 5.5. 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 2026-09-22.

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