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Agent skill

Improve Codebase Architecture

by deadlock-mod-manager in deadlock-mod-manager/deadlock-mod-manager

Find deepening opportunities in a codebase, informed by the architecture docs in apps/docs/content/docs/developer-docs/.

GPL-3.0Auto-check passedDevelopment

Install Improve Codebase Architecture

skills CLI
$ npx skills add deadlock-mod-manager/deadlock-mod-manager --skill improve-codebase-architecture -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install deadlock-mod-manager/deadlock-mod-manager improve-codebase-architecture --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/deadlock-mod-manager/deadlock-mod-manager.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/improve-codebase-architecture .claude/skills/improve-codebase-architecture && 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
improve-codebase-architecture
GitHub stars
473
Token cost
~1.1k tokens
SKILL.md length
558 words
Files
4
Skills in repo
23
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
GPL-3.0

At a glance

Find deepening opportunities in a codebase, informed by the architecture docs in apps/docs/content/docs/developer-docs/.

  • Works in 3 steps: Explore → Present candidates → Grilling loop
  • The user wants to improve architecture
  • SKILL.md covers Glossary and Process
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Improve Codebase Architecture is an agent skill from deadlock-mod-manager/deadlock-mod-manager. Find deepening opportunities in a codebase, informed by the architecture docs in apps/docs/content/docs/developer-docs/. Use when the user wants to improve architecture, find refactoring opportunities, consolidate tightly-coupled modules, or make a codebase more testable and AI-navigable.

Its SKILL.md is about 1.1k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 3 other files (for example `DEEPENING.md`, `INTERFACE-DESIGN.md` and `LANGUAGE.md`).

It sits in Development, covering Refactoring. The repository describes itself as: A mod manager for the Valve game Deadlock. The licence is GPL-3.0.

When your agent uses it

  • The user wants to improve architecture
  • Find refactoring opportunities
  • Consolidate tightly-coupled modules
  • Make a codebase more testable and AI-navigable

Example prompts

  • “/improve-codebase-architecture”

Workflow steps

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

  1. Explore
  2. Present candidates
  3. Grilling loop

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 8bb56d1. 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

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.

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

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    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

Improve Codebase Architecture loads about 1.1k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 80 tokens; SKILL.md has 558 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~80
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 deadlock-mod-manager/deadlock-mod-manager at commit 8bb56d1, republished under its GPL-3.0 licence (© deadlock-mod-manager). 558 words, ~1,120 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/improve-codebase-architecture/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 3 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
improve-codebase-architecture
description
Find deepening opportunities in a codebase, informed by the architecture docs in apps/docs/content/docs/developer-docs/. Use when the user wants to improve architecture, find refactoring opportunities, consolidate tightly-coupled modules, or make a codebase more testable and AI-navigable.

Improve Codebase Architecture

Surface architectural friction and propose deepening opportunities — refactors that turn shallow modules into deep ones. The aim is testability and AI-navigability.

Glossary

Use these terms exactly in every suggestion. Consistent language is the point — don't drift into "component," "service," "API," or "boundary." Full definitions in LANGUAGE.md.

  • Module — anything with an interface and an implementation (function, class, package, slice).
  • Interface — everything a caller must know to use the module: types, invariants, error modes, ordering, config. Not just the type signature.
  • Implementation — the code inside.
  • Depth — leverage at the interface: a lot of behaviour behind a small interface. Deep = high leverage. Shallow = interface nearly as complex as the implementation.
  • Seam — where an interface lives; a place behaviour can be altered without editing in place. (Use this, not "boundary.")
  • Adapter — a concrete thing satisfying an interface at a seam.
  • Leverage — what callers get from depth.
  • Locality — what maintainers get from depth: change, bugs, knowledge concentrated in one place.

Key principles (see LANGUAGE.md for the full list):

  • Deletion test: imagine deleting the module. If complexity vanishes, it was a pass-through. If complexity reappears across N callers, it was earning its keep.
  • The interface is the test surface.
  • One adapter = hypothetical seam. Two adapters = real seam.

This skill is informed by the project's architecture docs. Read apps/docs/content/docs/developer-docs/architecture.mdx and project-structure.mdx for app boundaries and domain concepts (mods, VPK, profiles, etc.).

Process

1. Explore

Read the architecture and project-structure docs in apps/docs/content/docs/developer-docs/ for the area you're touching first.

Then use the Agent tool with subagent_type=Explore to walk the codebase. Don't follow rigid heuristics — explore organically and note where you experience friction:

  • Where does understanding one concept require bouncing between many small modules?
  • Where are modules shallow — interface nearly as complex as the implementation?
  • Where have pure functions been extracted just for testability, but the real bugs hide in how they're called (no locality)?
  • Where do tightly-coupled modules leak across their seams?
  • Which parts of the codebase are untested, or hard to test through their current interface?

Apply the deletion test to anything you suspect is shallow: would deleting it concentrate complexity, or just move it? A "yes, concentrates" is the signal you want.

Show full SKILL.md (199 more words)Show less
2. Present candidates

Present a numbered list of deepening opportunities. For each candidate:

  • Files — which files/modules are involved
  • Problem — why the current architecture is causing friction
  • Solution — plain English description of what would change
  • Benefits — explained in terms of locality and leverage, and also in how tests would improve

Use domain vocabulary from the architecture docs and LANGUAGE.md for the architecture. Talk about "the mod download module" or "the VPK parser seam" — not "the FooBarHandler," and not "the Mod service."

Do NOT propose interfaces yet. Ask the user: "Which of these would you like to explore?"

3. Grilling loop

Once the user picks a candidate, drop into a grilling conversation. Walk the design tree with them — constraints, dependencies, the shape of the deepened module, what sits behind the seam, what tests survive.

Side effects happen inline as decisions crystallize:

  • Naming a deepened module after a concept not documented in the architecture docs? Offer to add a short glossary entry to architecture.mdx if the term is load-bearing.
  • User rejects the candidate with a load-bearing reason? Note the reason in your response so future reviews don't re-suggest the same thing.
  • Want to explore alternative interfaces for the deepened module? See INTERFACE-DESIGN.md.

© deadlock-mod-manager, GPL-3.0. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 3 other files in .agents/skills/improve-codebase-architecture of deadlock-mod-manager/deadlock-mod-manager.

  • SKILL.md
  • DEEPENING.md
  • INTERFACE-DESIGN.md
  • LANGUAGE.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 8bb56d1

Compare with similar skills

Improve Codebase Architecture 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.

Improve Codebase Architecture compared with similar skills
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Improve Codebase Architecture this skilldeadlock-mod-manager/deadlock-mod-manager473—~1.1kAutomated safety check: PassGPL-3.0
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Component Refactoringlangflow-ai/langflow156k—~3.5kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Migrate Core Code to Submodulestinyhumansai/openhuman41k—~2.6kAutomated safety check: PassGPL-3.0
ast-grep Structural Searchcode-yeongyu/oh-my-openagent70k—~3.3kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Systematic Code Refactoringluongnv89/claude-howto42k—~3kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

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Categories

Questions about Improve Codebase Architecture

What does Improve Codebase Architecture do?

Find deepening opportunities in a codebase, informed by the architecture docs in apps/docs/content/docs/developer-docs/. Improve Codebase Architecture is an agent skill from deadlock-mod-manager/deadlock-mod-manager. Find deepening opportunities in a codebase, informed by the architecture docs in apps/docs/content/docs/developer-docs/.

When should I use Improve Codebase Architecture?

Improve Codebase Architecture fits situations like: the user wants to improve architecture; find refactoring opportunities; consolidate tightly-coupled modules; make a codebase more testable and AI-navigable.

How do I install Improve Codebase Architecture in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add deadlock-mod-manager/deadlock-mod-manager --skill improve-codebase-architecture -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.agents/skills/improve-codebase-architecture in deadlock-mod-manager/deadlock-mod-manager) into .claude/skills/improve-codebase-architecture in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Improve Codebase Architecture in Codex?

Run `npx skills add deadlock-mod-manager/deadlock-mod-manager --skill improve-codebase-architecture -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.agents/skills/improve-codebase-architecture in deadlock-mod-manager/deadlock-mod-manager) into .agents/skills/improve-codebase-architecture in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Improve Codebase Architecture 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 deadlock-mod-manager/deadlock-mod-manager --skill improve-codebase-architecture -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/improve-codebase-architecture, .gemini/skills/improve-codebase-architecture, .github/skills/improve-codebase-architecture and .opencode/skills/improve-codebase-architecture in your project.

What does Improve Codebase Architecture need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Improve Codebase Architecture is instructions for the agent only.

Does Improve Codebase Architecture access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Improve Codebase Architecture 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 Improve Codebase Architecture use?

Improve Codebase Architecture is published under the GPL-3.0 licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Improve Codebase Architecture 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 Improve Codebase Architecture?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Improve Codebase Architecture: Guidelines (akash-network/node, 1.1k stars), Component Refactoring (langflow-ai/langflow, 156k stars), Migrate Core Code to Submodules (tinyhumansai/openhuman, 41k stars) and ast-grep Structural Search (code-yeongyu/oh-my-openagent, 70k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Improve Codebase Architecture?

deadlock-mod-manager (a GitHub organization) maintains it in deadlock-mod-manager/deadlock-mod-manager, which has 473 GitHub stars. The repository holds 23 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 6, 2026.

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