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.
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/JosephOIbrahim/Synapse/master/.claude/skills/codebase-transition/SKILL.mdgit clone --depth 1 https://github.com/JosephOIbrahim/SynapseWrote 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.
[](https://agentmods.dev/skills/josephoibrahim/synapse/codebase-transition)<a href="https://agentmods.dev/skills/josephoibrahim/synapse/codebase-transition"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/skills/josephoibrahim/synapse/codebase-transition/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.
<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>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.
| Model | Per session | Once 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 |
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.
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
.mdblueprint 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.
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.
- 1mo ago First seen · 145 lines · 95 tokens per session scan A 0923572df35a
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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