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Agent skill

Explain

by poshan0126 in poshan0126/dotclaude

Explain code. An agent skill from poshan0126/dotclaude.

MITAuto-check passedDevelopment

Install Explain

skills CLI
$ npx skills add poshan0126/dotclaude --skill explain -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install poshan0126/dotclaude explain --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/poshan0126/dotclaude.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/explain .claude/skills/explain && 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
GitHub stars
871
Token cost
~349 tokens
SKILL.md length
156 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
14
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Explain code. An agent skill from poshan0126/dotclaude.

  • Works in 5 steps: One-sentence summary → Mental model → Visual diagram (verbose only) → …
  • Tasks that involve Technical documentation
  • SKILL.md covers Mode and Sections
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Explain is an agent skill from poshan0126/dotclaude. Explain code. Default is a one-sentence summary plus a mental model. Add verbose to also get an ASCII diagram, key details, and a modification guide.

Its SKILL.md is about 350 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 Development, covering Technical documentation. The repository describes itself as: The standard .claude/ folder structure for everyday development. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Tasks that involve Technical documentation

Example prompts

  • “/explain”

Workflow steps

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

  1. One-sentence summary
  2. Mental model
  3. Visual diagram (verbose only)
  4. Key details (verbose only)
  5. How to modify it (verbose only)

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 94b84b9. 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

Explain loads about 349 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 40 tokens; SKILL.md has 156 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~40
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~349

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 poshan0126/dotclaude at commit 94b84b9, republished under its MIT licence (© poshan0126). 156 words, ~349 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/explain/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
explain
description
Explain code. Default is a one-sentence summary plus a mental model. Add `verbose` to also get an ASCII diagram, key details, and a modification guide.
argument-hint
[target] [verbose?]
disable-model-invocation
true

Explain $ARGUMENTS clearly.

Mode

If $ARGUMENTS includes the word verbose (for example, /explain my-function verbose), produce all five sections below. Strip the word verbose from the target name when interpreting what to explain.

Otherwise (the default), produce only sections 1 and 2 and stop. Day-to-day that's usually all you need.

Sections

1. One-sentence summary

What does it do, and why does it exist? One sentence.

2. Mental model

An analogy or metaphor that captures the core idea. Relate it to something the developer already knows. One short paragraph.

3. Visual diagram (verbose only)

Draw an ASCII diagram showing the data and control flow. Keep it readable:

Input -> [Step A] -> [Step B] -> Output
              |
              v
        [Side Effect]
4. Key details (verbose only)

Walk through the important parts. Skip the obvious. Focus on:

  • Non-obvious decisions (why this approach?)
  • Edge cases and gotchas
  • Dependencies and side effects
5. How to modify it (verbose only)

What would someone need to know to safely change this code? Where are the landmines?

© poshan0126, 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 skills/explain of poshan0126/dotclaude.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 94b84b9

Compare with similar skills

Explain 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.

Explain compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Explain this skillposhan0126/dotclaude871—~349Automated safety check: PassMIT
Diagram Designcathrynlavery/diagram-design45k1 repos~7.5kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Simple Englishmoeru-ai/airi50k2 repos~4.6kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Get API Docs with chubandrewyng/context-hub14k2 repos~775Automated safety check: PassMIT
Doc SyncJetBrains/ideavim10k2 repos~2.6kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Mailspring App ScreenshotsFoundry376/Mailspring18k—~1.5kAutomated safety check: PassGPL-3.0

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Categories

Questions about Explain

What does Explain do?

Explain code. An agent skill from poshan0126/dotclaude. Explain is an agent skill from poshan0126/dotclaude. Explain code.

When should I use Explain?

Explain fits situations like: tasks that involve Technical documentation.

How do I install Explain in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add poshan0126/dotclaude --skill explain -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/explain in poshan0126/dotclaude) into .claude/skills/explain in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Explain in Codex?

Run `npx skills add poshan0126/dotclaude --skill explain -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/explain in poshan0126/dotclaude) into .agents/skills/explain in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Explain 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 poshan0126/dotclaude --skill explain -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, .gemini/skills/explain, .github/skills/explain and .opencode/skills/explain in your project.

What does Explain need to run?

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

Does Explain 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 Explain 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 Explain use?

Explain 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 Explain use?

About 349 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 1.4k 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 Explain?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Explain: Diagram Design (cathrynlavery/diagram-design, 45k stars), Simple English (moeru-ai/airi, 50k stars), Get API Docs with chub (andrewyng/context-hub, 14k stars) and Doc Sync (JetBrains/ideavim, 10k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Explain?

poshan0126 (a GitHub user) maintains it in poshan0126/dotclaude, which has 871 GitHub stars. The repository holds 14 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on August 27, 2026.

Source: poshan0126/dotclaude on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.