serena-code-architecture

Architectural Analysis with Serena + Forgetful

This skill guides systematic architectural analysis using Serena's symbol-level understanding, with optional persistence to Forgetful's knowledge graph.

Triggers

Trigger Phrase	Operation
analyze the architecture of this project	Full 6-phase analysis workflow
map out the codebase structure	Phase 1-3 discovery and component mapping
trace dependencies for this component	Phase 4 dependency tracing
create architecture memories	Phase 5-6 memory and entity creation
what components does this project have	Phase 3 core component mapping

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When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Analyzing a new codebase before implementing changes
• Documenting existing architecture for a project
• Creating component entities and relationships in Forgetful
• Understanding dependencies and call hierarchies
• Building a knowledge graph from code structure

Use using-serena-symbols instead when:

• Quick symbol lookup without memory persistence
• Finding a specific class or method definition
• Tracing references for a single symbol

Analysis Workflow

Phase 1: Project Structure Discovery

Understand the high-level layout:

# Get directory structure
mcp__plugin_serena_serena__list_dir({
  "relative_path": ".",
  "recursive": false
})

# Identify key directories (src/, app/, lib/, etc.)
mcp__plugin_serena_serena__list_dir({
  "relative_path": "src",
  "recursive": true
})

Goal: Identify entry points, main modules, and organizational patterns.

Phase 2: Entry Point Analysis

Find the application entry points:

# Look for main/app files
mcp__plugin_serena_serena__search_for_pattern({
  "substring_pattern": "if __name__.*==.*__main__|def main\\(|app\\s*=\\s*FastAPI|createApp",
  "restrict_search_to_code_files": true
})

# Get symbols from entry file
mcp__plugin_serena_serena__get_symbols_overview({
  "relative_path": "src/main.py",
  "depth": 1
})