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doc-and-modernize

Generates cited architecture documents and phased modernization plans for locally cloned codebases.

38.5k|4.9k|Updated Jun 11, 2025
Search Tags:#technical debt#Refactoring#migration planning#architecture documentation#legacy modernization#CI setup#Codebase Analysis
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot --skill doc-and-modernize
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent▼
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: doc-and-modernize
Source: https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot/tree/main/skills/doc-and-modernize
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot --skill doc-and-modernize

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

💡 This Skill includes references (resource) components.

What problem does it solve?

Understanding an unfamiliar codebase or planning a legacy migration usually requires weeks of manual code reading and risky guesswork about whether the old stack can even run. This Skill produces a verifiable, file-cited architecture document from a local checkout, then turns it into a phased modernization plan that honestly accounts for dead toolchains, missing CI, and partial testability.

Core Features & Use Cases

  • Documentation mode: Generates a single architecture document with tech-stack detection, a verified commands inventory, C4-style Mermaid diagrams, subsystem deep-dives, and a confidence assessment, with every claim cited to a local file and line.
  • Modernization mode: Runs a time-boxed feasibility spike, locates a per-component Testability Milestone, picks a migration strategy (freeze-then-lift vs. beachhead-then-expand), and assigns a safety-ladder rung (L0–L4) with named residual risk.
  • Hazard red-teaming: Every phase is checked against a stack-agnostic migration hazard catalog (H1–H8) covering quarantine gaps, framework codemods, runtime/deployment drift, route-class enumeration, stateful data-store upgrades, and stacked-PR traps.
  • Use Case: Point it at a legacy monorepo you just inherited; it first writes an onboarding-grade architecture document, then produces a phased plan to migrate off the EOL framework, including which phase stands up CI and which steps require manual human action.

Quick Start

Ask the agent to document the architecture of this repository and then produce a phased modernization plan for upgrading its legacy stack.

Frequently Asked Questions about doc-and-modernize

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I generate an architecture document for an existing codebase?▼

Run Documentation mode on a locally cloned repository. It reads manifests, CI configs, and source files on disk, then produces a single Markdown document with tech-stack tables, Mermaid C4 diagrams, subsystem deep-dives, and file-plus-line citations for every claim.

How do I plan a legacy system migration when the old stack no longer builds?▼

Modernization mode assumes the legacy stack may be dead by default. It runs a time-boxed feasibility spike, then chooses between freeze-then-lift and beachhead-then-expand strategies, assigning each component a safety-ladder rung instead of demanding a green legacy CI gate up front.

Does it work with any programming language or framework?▼

Yes, the workflow is stack-agnostic. It detects the ecosystem from real manifests such as go.mod, package.json, Cargo.toml, pyproject.toml, or pom.xml, and the hazard catalog maps each hazard class onto whatever ecosystem is being migrated.

Can it set up and enforce CI automatically during a migration?▼

It can author the CI workflow file, but making that workflow a required status check or branch-protection rule is a manual platform-UI step a human must perform. The plan emits this as an explicit user action item at the CI Milestone phase.

What are the limitations of the local-first documentation approach?▼

Local-first reading cannot see remote-only facts like star counts, full CI run history, or branch-protection settings. These are marked [UNVERIFIED] or flagged as sourced remotely, and remote lookups are treated as a flagged last resort rather than the default.

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