Use this workflow when you need to thoroughly understand all relevant parts of a codebase
or topic before making changes or writing documentation.
Source: https://grantslatton.com/claude-code
- Enumerate all source code files in the project, explicitly excluding build artifacts and other non-essential directories to ensure a complete and relevant file list.
- From the list, heuristically identify filenames most likely related to the target topic or feature; at this stage, simply list them without further action.
- For each relevant file, use pattern-matching tools (such as ripgrep) to locate definitions of types, functions, modules, and other major code constructs—tailoring search patterns to the conventions of the specific programming language.
- Review the results and select definitions or code sections that appear most pertinent to the target topic.
- Expand your review to include surrounding context for each relevant code section, increasing the window as needed to fully understand the implementation and its dependencies.
- When internal context is insufficient, proactively seek external references (documentation, libraries, or web resources) to fill knowledge gaps.
- After gathering new context, return to the beginning and repeat the process, refining your focus and expanding understanding with each iteration.
- Continue iterating until you are confident that all relevant context has been identified and understood.
