onboard-gen

What This Skill Does

The onboard-gen skill is an automated documentation engine designed to eliminate the 'tribal knowledge' barrier for new engineering hires. Instead of manually drafting architecture summaries or environment setup guides, onboard-gen introspects your codebase, analyzes configuration files like package.json, and maps out internal dependencies. It produces a comprehensive 'Getting Started' artifact that outlines project structure, explains critical design patterns, identifies key environment variables, and lists common troubleshooting pathways. By bridging the gap between raw source code and developer understanding, this tool ensures new team members reach peak productivity in days rather than weeks.

Installation

To add this skill to your OpenClaw agent, execute the following command in your terminal:

clawhub install openclaw/skills/skills/lxgicstudios/onboard-gen

Once installed, you can trigger the tool locally within any project directory using npx. No global npm installation is required, and the tool is designed to work immediately using your existing environment, provided you are running Node.js 18 or higher.

Use Cases

• Rapid Onboarding: Quickly integrate junior developers or contractors who need a structured overview of a large, complex repository.
• Open Source Preparation: Automatically generate high-quality contributor documentation to lower the barrier for external pull requests.
• Technical Debt Audits: Use the generated FAQ and concept mapping to identify areas of the codebase that are confusing or poorly structured.
• Wiki Synchronization: Instantly update team internal wikis or project READMEs whenever the architecture evolves significantly.

Example Prompts

1. 'Run onboard-gen on the current directory and save the output as ONBOARDING.md.'
2. 'Generate onboarding documentation for this project, focusing specifically on our authentication flow and database connection patterns.'
3. 'Create a setup guide for this codebase, including a list of required environment variables and common debugging steps for local development.'

Tips & Limitations

• Context is King: While the tool is autonomous, its accuracy improves significantly if your existing README is descriptive. The tool treats it as a primary source of intent.
• Review Generated Output: Always perform a cursory review of the generated documentation, particularly for sensitive endpoints or hardcoded configuration references.
• Project Root: Ensure you trigger the command from the root of your project; executing from a subdirectory may cause the tool to miss critical global configuration files.
• Frequency: Treat documentation as code. Run this tool quarterly or after major architectural refactors to keep your onboarding material from becoming stale.