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Agent skill

Prime Backend

by coleam00 in coleam00/skills

Primes the agent with focused understanding of the backend portion of the codebase — API routes, services, data models, and database layer — without loading unrelated frontend code.

MITAuto-check passedBackend & APIs

Install Prime Backend

skills CLI
$ npx skills add coleam00/skills --skill prime-backend -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install coleam00/skills prime-backend --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/coleam00/skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/prime-backend .claude/skills/prime-backend && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
prime-backend
GitHub stars
674
Token cost
~1.1k tokens
SKILL.md length
510 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
34
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Primes the agent with focused understanding of the backend portion of the codebase — API routes, services, data models, and database layer — without loading unrelated frontend code.

  • Works in 5 steps: Load External Context → Locate the Backend → Read Backend Documentation → …
  • Tasks that involve REST APIs
  • SKILL.md covers Objective, Process and Output Report
  • Calls git

What it does

Prime Backend is an agent skill from coleam00/skills. Primes the agent with focused understanding of the backend portion of the codebase — API routes, services, data models, and database layer — without loading unrelated frontend code. Use at the start of a session when the work is scoped to API endpoints, business logic, or data access. Optionally pulls external task context from Jira issues and Confluence pages first.

Its SKILL.md is about 1.1k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in Backend & APIs, covering REST APIs. It works with Jira, Confluence and Model Context Protocol. The repository describes itself as: The agent skills I actually use to build software with coding agents. The PIV loop, planning, worktrees, and the meta-skills for building your own AI Layer. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Tasks that involve REST APIs

Example prompts

  • “Use the prime-backend skill to prime the agent with focused understanding of the backend portion of the codebase — API routes, services, data…”
  • “/prime-backend”

Workflow steps

5 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

  1. Load External Context
  2. Locate the Backend
  3. Read Backend Documentation
  4. Identify Key Backend Files
  5. Understand Current Backend State

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 847be08. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

    • git

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md. Its commands use git, which can reach the network depending on how they are called.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Prime Backend loads about 1.1k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 96 tokens; SKILL.md has 510 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~96
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~1.1k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from coleam00/skills at commit 847be08, republished under its MIT licence (© coleam00). 510 words, ~1,126 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/prime-backend/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
prime-backend
description
Primes the agent with focused understanding of the backend portion of the codebase — API routes, services, data models, and database layer — without loading unrelated frontend code. Use at the start of a session when the work is scoped to API endpoints, business logic, or data access. Optionally pulls external task context from Jira issues and Confluence pages first.
argument-hint
[jira-issue-keys] [confluence-page-ids]

Prime Backend: Load Backend Context

Objective

Build targeted understanding of the backend codebase by analyzing its structure, routes, services, and data layer. Loading only backend context keeps the context window light on complex full-stack codebases. If external task references are provided, load them first so the analysis is anchored to the actual work.

Process

Step 0: Load External Context

Run this step BEFORE the codebase analysis. It accepts optional arguments: [jira-issue-keys] [confluence-page-ids].

  • Jira keys may be a single key (ACC-2) or comma-separated (ACC-2,ACC-3).
  • Confluence page ids are numeric page ids.

If Jira issue keys are provided:

  1. Call mcp__atlassian__getAccessibleAtlassianResources to obtain the cloudId.
  2. For each Jira key, call mcp__atlassian__getJiraIssue with that cloudId, the issue key, and responseContentFormat: "markdown".
  3. Treat the returned issue summary, description, and acceptance criteria as the task context for everything that follows.

If Confluence page ids are provided:

  1. Call mcp__atlassian__getConfluencePage for each page id with contentFormat: "markdown" (use the cloudId from above, fetching it via mcp__atlassian__getAccessibleAtlassianResources if it was not already retrieved).
  2. Treat the returned page content as supporting context (specs, design docs, requirements).

If no arguments are provided: Skip this step entirely and proceed to Step 1.

Briefly summarize any external context loaded before continuing — this frames the rest of the priming.

1. Locate the Backend

List all tracked files to find the backend root:

!git ls-files

Common backend roots: backend/, server/, api/, app/ (FastAPI/Django), src/ (when project is backend-only). Identify the correct root before proceeding.

2. Read Backend Documentation
  • Read CLAUDE.md or similar global rules file (for project-wide conventions)
  • Read any README inside the backend root
  • Read .claude/references/backend-api-best-practices.md if it exists — it contains project-specific API conventions
Show full SKILL.md (235 more words)Show less
3. Identify Key Backend Files

Based on the structure, read:

  • Main entry point (main.py, app.py, server.ts, index.ts, etc.)
  • Route registration / router index (routes/, api/, routers/)
  • Core configuration (pyproject.toml, package.json, tsconfig.json)
  • Database configuration and ORM setup (database.py, db.ts, alembic.ini)
  • Core data models or schemas (models/, schemas/)
  • One or two representative feature slices (route + service + model) to internalize established patterns
  • Middleware and dependency injection setup

Skip files outside the backend root unless they define a shared type or contract the backend exposes.

4. Understand Current Backend State

Check recent backend-relevant activity:

!git log -10 --oneline

!git status

Note any open migrations, pending schema changes, or in-progress API changes.

Output Report

Provide a concise summary covering:

External Task Context (if loaded)
  • Jira issue(s): key, title, one-line goal, acceptance criteria
  • Confluence page(s): title and what they specify
Backend Overview
  • Framework and major libraries (FastAPI, Django, Express, NestJS, etc.)
  • Language and runtime version
  • Database and ORM (PostgreSQL + SQLAlchemy, MongoDB + Mongoose, etc.)
Directory Map
  • Backend root and key sub-directories with one-line purpose each
Architecture Patterns
  • How routes, services, and data access are layered
  • Dependency injection or middleware patterns observed
  • Error handling approach
Conventions
  • Naming conventions, module organization
  • Migration tooling and current migration state
  • Testing framework and conventions observed
Current State
  • Active branch, recent backend changes
  • Any pending migrations or schema changes
  • Any immediate concerns (missing validation, unhandled errors, etc.)

Make this summary easy to scan - use bullet points and clear headers.

© coleam00, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in .claude/skills/prime-backend of coleam00/skills.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 847be08

Compare with similar skills

Prime Backend next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Prime Backend compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Prime Backend this skillcoleam00/skills674—~1.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Atlassian MCP ExpertJeffallan/claude-skills12k—~1.3kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Akb Ingestdnotitia/akb162—~2kAutomated safety check: PassCustom licence
Atlassiansanjay3290/ai-skills431—~1.6kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Code Overview To Confluencetestdouble/han279—~2.3kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Confluence To Markdowniurykrieger/claude-bedrock1051 repos~2.8kAutomated safety check: NotesMIT

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    12k GitHub stars~1.3k tokensUpdated 6 days ago
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Works with

Categories

Questions about Prime Backend

What does Prime Backend do?

Primes the agent with focused understanding of the backend portion of the codebase — API routes, services, data models, and database layer — without loading unrelated frontend code. Prime Backend is an agent skill from coleam00/skills. Primes the agent with focused understanding of the backend portion of the codebase — API routes, services, data models, and database layer — without loading unrelated frontend code.

When should I use Prime Backend?

Prime Backend fits situations like: tasks that involve REST APIs.

How do I install Prime Backend in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add coleam00/skills --skill prime-backend -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.claude/skills/prime-backend in coleam00/skills) into .claude/skills/prime-backend in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Prime Backend in Codex?

Run `npx skills add coleam00/skills --skill prime-backend -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.claude/skills/prime-backend in coleam00/skills) into .agents/skills/prime-backend in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Prime Backend in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add coleam00/skills --skill prime-backend -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/prime-backend, .gemini/skills/prime-backend, .github/skills/prime-backend and .opencode/skills/prime-backend in your project.

What does Prime Backend need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Prime Backend needs the command-line tools its instructions call (git).

Does Prime Backend access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Its commands use git, which can reach the network depending on how they are called. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Prime Backend safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Prime Backend use?

Prime Backend is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Prime Backend use?

About 1.1k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 4.5k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Prime Backend?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Prime Backend: Atlassian MCP Expert (Jeffallan/claude-skills, 12k stars), Akb Ingest (dnotitia/akb, 162 stars), Atlassian (sanjay3290/ai-skills, 431 stars) and Code Overview To Confluence (testdouble/han, 279 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Prime Backend?

coleam00 (a GitHub user) maintains it in coleam00/skills, which has 674 GitHub stars. The repository holds 34 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 7, 2026.

Source: coleam00/skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.