understand-explain · diff
git:20260708.0bae36e to git:20260710.e82fe96
50 added, 37 removed. Audit A to A.
- ---
- name: understand-explain
- description: Use when you need a deep-dive explanation of a specific file, function, or module in the codebase
- argument-hint: "[file-path]"
- ---
-
- # /understand-explain
-
- Provide a thorough, in-depth explanation of a specific code component.
-
- ## Graph Structure Reference
-
- The knowledge graph JSON has this structure:
- - `project` — {name, description, languages, frameworks, analyzedAt, gitCommitHash}
- - `nodes[]` — each has {id, type, name, filePath?, summary, tags[], complexity, languageNotes?}
- - Code node types: file, function, class, module, concept
- - Non-code node types: config, document, service, table, endpoint, pipeline, schema, resource
- - Domain/knowledge node types: domain, flow, step, article, entity, topic, claim, source
- - IDs use the node type as prefix, e.g. `file:path`, `function:path:name`, `config:path`, `article:path`
- - `edges[]` — each has {source, target, type, direction, weight}
- - Key types: imports, contains, calls, depends_on, configures, documents, deploys, triggers, contains_flow, flow_step, related, cites
- - `layers[]` — each has {id, name, description, nodeIds[]}
- - `tour[]` — each has {order, title, description, nodeIds[]}
-
- ## How to Read Efficiently
-
- 1. Use Grep to search within the JSON for relevant entries BEFORE reading the full file
- 2. Only read sections you need — don't dump the entire graph into context
- 3. Node names and summaries are the most useful fields for understanding
- 4. Edges tell you how components connect — follow imports and calls for dependency chains
-
- ## Instructions
-
- 1. Check that `.understand-anything/knowledge-graph.json` exists. If not, tell the user to run `/understand` first.
-
- 2. **Check graph freshness** — read `project.gitCommitHash` from the graph metadata and run `git rev-parse HEAD` in the project root. If both values exist and differ, warn the user before explaining that the knowledge graph may be stale and newer code may be missing from graph-derived context. Suggest: Run `/understand` to refresh the graph. If git metadata is missing or unavailable, continue with a brief best-effort warning instead of blocking.
+ ---
+ name: understand-explain
+ description: Use when you need a deep-dive explanation of a specific file, function, or module in the codebase
+ argument-hint: "[file-path]"
+ ---
+ # /understand-explain
+
+ Provide a thorough, in-depth explanation of a specific code component.
+
+ ## Graph Structure Reference
+
+ The knowledge graph JSON has this structure:
+ - `project` — {name, description, languages, frameworks, analyzedAt, gitCommitHash}
+ - `nodes[]` — each has {id, type, name, filePath?, summary, tags[], complexity, languageNotes?}
+ - Code node types: file, function, class, module, concept
+ - Non-code node types: config, document, service, table, endpoint, pipeline, schema, resource
+ - Domain/knowledge node types: domain, flow, step, article, entity, topic, claim, source
+ - IDs use the node type as prefix, e.g. `file:path`, `function:path:name`, `config:path`, `article:path`
+ - `edges[]` — each has {source, target, type, direction, weight}
+ - Key types: imports, contains, calls, depends_on, configures, documents, deploys, triggers, contains_flow, flow_step, related, cites
+ - `layers[]` — each has {id, name, description, nodeIds[]}
+ - `tour[]` — each has {order, title, description, nodeIds[]}
+
+ ## How to Read Efficiently
+
+ 1. Use Grep to search within the JSON for relevant entries BEFORE reading the full file
+ 2. Only read sections you need — don't dump the entire graph into context
+ 3. Node names and summaries are the most useful fields for understanding
+ 4. Edges tell you how components connect — follow imports and calls for dependency chains
+
+ ## Instructions
+
+ 1. Check that `.understand-anything/knowledge-graph.json` exists. If not, tell the user to run `/understand` first.
+
+ 2. **Check graph freshness before using graph-derived context**:
+ - Read `project.gitCommitHash` from the graph metadata as `GRAPH_COMMIT_RAW`. Resolve it as a commit before using it in any Git diff, then compare it with `git rev-parse HEAD` and inspect project-scoped committed and working-tree changes from the project root:
+ ```bash
+ GRAPH_COMMIT=$(git rev-parse --verify --end-of-options "${GRAPH_COMMIT_RAW}^{commit}" 2>/dev/null)
+ git rev-parse HEAD
+ git diff --name-only "$GRAPH_COMMIT" HEAD -- .
+ git diff --cached --name-only -- .
+ git diff --name-only -- .
+ git ls-files --others --exclude-standard -- .
+ ```
+ - The `-- .` pathspec is required: commits that only touch a sibling monorepo project must not make this graph stale. A hash mismatch alone is not stale when the project diff is empty.
+ - Ignore `.understand-anything/` paths in every command's output because they are generated graph artifacts, not project source drift.
+ - If the committed diff or any working-tree command reports project files, warn before explaining that graph-derived context may omit those changes. Suggest: Run `/understand` to refresh the graph.
+ - Run the commit diff only when `GRAPH_COMMIT_RAW` resolves successfully. If the graph commit or Git metadata is missing, invalid, or unavailable, give a brief best-effort warning and continue instead of blocking.
+
3. **Find the target node** — use Grep to search the knowledge graph for the component: "$ARGUMENTS"
- For file paths (e.g., `src/auth/login.ts`): search for `"filePath"` matches
- For function notation (e.g., `src/auth/login.ts:verifyToken`): search for the function name in `"name"` fields filtered by the file path
- Note the exact node `id`, `type`, `summary`, `tags`, and `complexity`
4. **Find all connected edges** — Grep for the target node's ID in the edges section:
- `"source"` matches → things this node calls/imports/depends on (outgoing)
- `"target"` matches → things that call/import/depend on this node (incoming)
- Note the connected node IDs and edge types
5. **Read connected nodes** — for each connected node ID from step 4, Grep for those IDs in the nodes section to get their `name`, `summary`, and `type`. This builds the component's neighborhood.
6. **Identify the layer** — Grep for the target node's ID in the `"layers"` section to find which architectural layer it belongs to and that layer's description.
7. **Read the actual source file** — Read the source file at the node's `filePath` for the deep-dive analysis.
8. **Explain the component in context**:
- Its role in the architecture (which layer, why it exists)
- Internal structure (functions, classes it contains — from `contains` edges)
- External connections (what it imports, what calls it, what it depends on — from edges)
- Data flow (inputs → processing → outputs — from source code)
- Explain clearly, assuming the reader may not know the programming language
- - Highlight any patterns, idioms, or complexity worth understanding
+ - Highlight any patterns, idioms, or complexity worth understanding