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Agent skill

Cited Code Explainer

by pilinux in pilinux/gorest

Explains how a module behaves in a few short, read-only sections, with a path-and-line citation behind every non-trivial claim.

MITAuto-check passedDevelopment

Install Cited Code Explainer

skills CLI
$ npx skills add pilinux/gorest --skill explain-code -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install pilinux/gorest explain-code --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/pilinux/gorest.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.agents/skills/explain-code .claude/skills/explain-code && 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
explain-code
GitHub stars
506
Token cost
~244 tokens
SKILL.md length
97 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
20
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Explains how a module behaves in a few short, read-only sections, with a path-and-line citation behind every non-trivial claim.

  • Needing a quick overview of a module tied to exact code locations
  • SKILL.md covers When to Use, Rules, Output and Examples, plus 1 more section
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md
  • Understanding an end-to-end flow such as token blacklisting

What it does

Asked how something works, the agent only reads, and each non-trivial statement carries a path and line reference. The answer has a fixed shape: one to four sentences on what the code does, three to six bullets on how it works with citations for the key points, a short list of key types and APIs with locations, and one to three bullets on edge cases and invariants. Summaries stay brief and focus on inputs and outputs, side effects and error handling. The skill points to file-reader and code-navigation skills for low-level excerpts and impact mapping.

When your agent uses it

  • Needing a quick overview of a module tied to exact code locations
  • Understanding an end-to-end flow such as token blacklisting
  • Preparing a source-cited explanation for a reviewer or new teammate

Example prompts

  • “Explain how handler.Login works and where passwords are hashed.”
  • “How does the JWT blacklist work end to end? Cite the code.”

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 38aab64. 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

Cited Code Explainer loads about 244 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 29 tokens; SKILL.md has 97 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~29
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~244

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 pilinux/gorest at commit 38aab64, republished under its MIT licence (© pilinux). 97 words, ~244 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/explain-code/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
explain-code
description
Produce concise, citation-backed explanations of module behavior, data flow, and important types/APIs.
license
MIT
metadata.mode
read-only
metadata.purpose
explanation

Explain Code

When to Use

  • The user asks "how does X work?" or needs a human-readable overview tied to exact code locations.

Rules

  • Read-only and source-cited: every non-trivial claim must include path:line.
  • Keep summaries short and pragmatic. Focus on inputs/outputs, side effects, and error handling.

Output

  • What it does: 1-4 sentences.
  • How it works: 3-6 bullets with path:line citations for key statements.
  • Key types/APIs: short list with path:line.
  • Edge cases / invariants: 1-3 bullets.

Examples

  • "Explain handler.Login behavior and where passwords are hashed."
  • "How does the JWT blacklist work end-to-end?"
  • file-reader (low-level excerpts), code-navigation (impact mapping)

© pilinux, 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 .agents/skills/explain-code of pilinux/gorest.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 38aab64

Compare with similar skills

Cited Code Explainer 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.

Cited Code Explainer compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Cited Code Explainer this skillpilinux/gorest506—~244Automated safety check: PassMIT
Project Onboarding Guide from Knowledge GraphEgonex-AI/Understand-Anything85k—~1.2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Deepwiki Rssopaco/deepwiki-rs3.1k—~748Automated safety check: PassMIT
Acquire Codebase Knowledgegithub/awesome-copilot40k1 repos~2.3kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Codex Proxy RS Development Guidezyycn/codex-proxy-rs738—~618Automated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Evidence-Grounded ExplainerEveryInc/compound-engineering-plugin25k—~2.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

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  • Code Navigation

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  • Cited File Reader

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    Reads only the lines needed from a source file and answers with a short summary and path:line citations, without changing anything.

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  • Fix Suggester

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Categories

Questions about Cited Code Explainer

What does Cited Code Explainer do?

Explains how a module behaves in a few short, read-only sections, with a path-and-line citation behind every non-trivial claim. Asked how something works, the agent only reads, and each non-trivial statement carries a path and line reference. The answer has a fixed shape: one to four sentences on what the code does, three to six bullets on how it works with citations for the key points, a short list of key types and APIs with locations, and one to three bullets on edge cases and invariants.

When should I use Cited Code Explainer?

Cited Code Explainer fits situations like: needing a quick overview of a module tied to exact code locations; understanding an end-to-end flow such as token blacklisting; preparing a source-cited explanation for a reviewer or new teammate.

How do I install Cited Code Explainer in Claude Code?

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

How do I install Cited Code Explainer in Codex?

Run `npx skills add pilinux/gorest --skill explain-code -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.agents/skills/explain-code in pilinux/gorest) into .agents/skills/explain-code in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Cited Code Explainer 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 pilinux/gorest --skill explain-code -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/explain-code, .gemini/skills/explain-code, .github/skills/explain-code and .opencode/skills/explain-code in your project.

What does Cited Code Explainer need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Cited Code Explainer is instructions for the agent only.

Does Cited Code Explainer 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 Cited Code Explainer 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 Cited Code Explainer use?

Cited Code Explainer is published under the MIT licence (declared in SKILL.md). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Cited Code Explainer use?

About 244 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 976 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 Cited Code Explainer?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Cited Code Explainer: Project Onboarding Guide from Knowledge Graph (Egonex-AI/Understand-Anything, 85k stars), Deepwiki Rs (sopaco/deepwiki-rs, 3.1k stars), Acquire Codebase Knowledge (github/awesome-copilot, 40k stars) and Codex Proxy RS Development Guide (zyycn/codex-proxy-rs, 738 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Cited Code Explainer?

pilinux (a GitHub user) maintains it in pilinux/gorest, which has 506 GitHub stars. The repository holds 20 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on September 25, 2026.

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