Repository Analyzer Skill

Purpose

Single responsibility: Analyze GitHub repository structure, documentation quality, and contribution patterns for codebase understanding. (BP-4)

Grounding Checkpoint (Archetype 1 Mitigation)

Before executing, VERIFY:

• gh CLI is installed and authenticated
• Repository URL or local clone exists
• Access permissions verified (public or authenticated)
• Analysis scope defined (structure, docs, deps, or all)

DO NOT analyze without confirming repository access.

Uncertainty Escalation (Archetype 2 Mitigation)

ASK USER instead of guessing when:

• Multiple repositories to analyze - which first?
• Private repo requires different auth
• Analysis depth unclear (quick vs deep)
• Specific aspects to focus on

NEVER scrape repository data without user intent.

Context Scope (Archetype 3 Mitigation)

Context Type	Included	Excluded
RELEVANT	Repo structure, README, package files	Source code details
PERIPHERAL	Contribution stats, issue patterns	PR content
DISTRACTOR	Fork network	Unrelated repos

Workflow Steps

Step 1: Verify Access (Grounding)

# Check gh CLI
gh --version

# Verify authentication
gh auth status

# Check repo access
gh repo view <owner>/<repo> --json name,description,visibility

Step 2: Analyze Structure

# Repository overview
gh repo view <owner>/<repo> --json name,description,defaultBranch,languages,topics

# Directory structure
gh api repos/<owner>/<repo>/contents | jq '.[].name'

# Key files present
for file in README.md LICENSE CONTRIBUTING.md .github/workflows; do
  gh api repos/<owner>/<repo>/contents/$file 2>/dev/null && echo "✅ $file" || echo "❌ $file missing"
done

Step 3: Documentation Analysis

# README content and quality
gh api repos/<owner>/<repo>/readme | jq -r '.content' | base64 -d | head -100

# Check for docs directory
gh api repos/<owner>/<repo>/contents/docs 2>/dev/null | jq '.[].name'

# Contributing guide
gh api repos/<owner>/<repo>/contents/CONTRIBUTING.md 2>/dev/null

Step 4: Dependency Analysis

# Package files
gh api repos/<owner>/<repo>/contents/package.json 2>/dev/null | jq -r '.content' | base64 -d | jq '.dependencies'
gh api repos/<owner>/<repo>/contents/requirements.txt 2>/dev/null | jq -r '.content' | base64 -d
gh api repos/<owner>/<repo>/contents/go.mod 2>/dev/null

# Dependency graph (if available)
gh api repos/<owner>/<repo>/dependency-graph/sbom 2>/dev/null | head -50

Step 5: Contribution Analysis

# Contributors
gh api repos/<owner>/<repo>/contributors --jq '.[0:10] | .[] | "\(.login): \(.contributions) commits"'

# Recent activity
gh api repos/<owner>/<repo>/commits --jq '.[0:5] | .[] | "\(.commit.author.date): \(.commit.message | split("\n")[0])"'

# Issue/PR stats
gh api repos/<owner>/<repo> --jq '{issues: .open_issues_count, forks: .forks_count, stars: .stargazers_count}'

Recovery Protocol (Archetype 4 Mitigation)

On error:

1. PAUSE - Note what data was collected
2. DIAGNOSE - Check error type:
   • 404 → Check repo name, visibility
   • 401 → Re-authenticate with gh auth login
   • 403 → Check rate limits or permissions
   • API error → Fall back to local clone analysis
3. ADAPT - Use alternative data sources
4. RETRY - With different approach (max 3 attempts)
5. ESCALATE - Report partial analysis

Checkpoint Support

State saved to: .aiwg/working/checkpoints/repo-analyzer/

checkpoints/repo-analyzer/
├── structure.json           # Directory structure
├── documentation.json       # Docs assessment
├── dependencies.json        # Dependency analysis
├── contributions.json       # Contributor stats
└── health_report.md         # Overall health

Output Format

# Repository Analysis: <owner>/<repo>

## Overview
- **Name**: repository-name
- **Description**: Short description
- **Language**: TypeScript (85%), JavaScript (15%)
- **Stars**: 1,234 | Forks: 156 | Issues: 23

## Structure Assessment
- [x] README.md (comprehensive)
- [x] LICENSE (MIT)
- [ ] CONTRIBUTING.md (missing)
- [x] .github/workflows (3 workflows)

## Documentation Quality: 7/10
- Clear installation instructions
- API documentation present
- Missing: troubleshooting guide

## Dependency Health
- Total: 45 dependencies
- Outdated: 8
- Vulnerabilities: 0

## Activity Level: Active
- Last commit: 2 days ago
- Contributors: 12
- Monthly commits: ~45

## Recommendations
1. Add CONTRIBUTING.md guide
2. Update 8 outdated dependencies
3. Add troubleshooting section to docs

Common Analysis Queries

Query	Purpose
gh repo view	Basic info
gh api /repos/{}/languages	Language breakdown
gh api /repos/{}/contributors	Contributor list
gh api /repos/{}/commits	Recent commits
gh api /repos/{}/releases	Release history
gh api /repos/{}/pulls	Open PRs

References

• GitHub CLI: https://cli.github.com/
• GitHub API: https://docs.github.com/en/rest
• REF-001: Production-Grade Agentic Workflows (BP-4)
• REF-002: LLM Failure Modes (Archetype 1 grounding)