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Codebase to Course

by zarazhangrui · zarazhangrui/codebase-to-course

Point at a repo, get a single HTML 'course' that explains it like a tutorial — annotated code, diagrams, narrative — for non-engineers and onboarding hires.

codebase-to-course is a Claude Code skill that walks an entire repository and produces a single-file HTML course explaining how the codebase actually works. It's structured like a tutorial: high-level architecture, then per-module deep dives, then 'follow this request through the system' walkthroughs — with embedded annotated code snippets. Output is one HTML file, no build step.

▶ Watch demo 📦 Install 💡 Use Cases

Why use it

Key features

Live Demo

What it looks like in practice

ready

Install

Author repository · Claude Skills documentation

Use Cases

Real-world ways to use Codebase to Course

Generate a self-paced onboarding course for a new hire

👤 Engineering managers / tech leads ⏱ ~45 min beginner

When to use: Friday after offer accepted: you want a real onboarding artifact instead of 'go read the code'.

Flow
  1. Scan repo
    codebase-to-course: scan ./our-app. Output the proposed course structure first — section list — before writing.✓ Copied
    → Concrete TOC: architecture, modules, request flows
  2. Generate course
    Looks good. Generate the full HTML to /onboarding/course.html. Target audience: new full-stack hire who knows React + Node but not our domain.✓ Copied
    → HTML file generated; opens in browser
  3. Verify accuracy
    Spot-check: does the 'auth flow' walkthrough match what's actually in src/auth/? Quote the real code.✓ Copied
    → Walkthrough cites real file paths and current code

Outcome: A real onboarding artifact that saves the team 2 weeks of explaining.

Pitfalls
  • Course is too long to actually read — Specify max sections; quality over completeness
  • Code excerpts go stale — Regenerate after major refactors; the skill is fast
Combine with: filesystem · git-mcp-idosal

Explain a complex feature to a non-technical PM

👤 Tech leads ⏱ ~20 min beginner

When to use: PM keeps asking 'why does this take 3 sprints' — you want a concrete artifact.

Flow
  1. Scope to feature
    codebase-to-course: scope to src/payments/. Audience: PM with no engineering background. Lean on diagrams + analogies, light on code.✓ Copied
    → Course is high-level; code blocks minimal

Outcome: PM walks away with mental model.

Pitfalls
  • Analogies oversimplify — Spot-check; the skill prefers accuracy if pushed

Generate a 'how it works' page for your open source project

👤 OSS maintainers ⏱ ~30 min intermediate

When to use: Your README has features but no architectural explainer.

Flow
  1. Generate as a docs page
    codebase-to-course: scan main branch. Output ARCHITECTURE.html for the docs site. Target: experienced devs evaluating the project.✓ Copied
    → Output reads like a thoughtful contributor's guide

Outcome: Better dev experience for evaluators and contributors.

Pitfalls
  • Course branded wrong (looks generic) — Pass project name + style cues in the prompt

Combinations

Pair with other MCPs for X10 leverage

codebase-to-course-skill + filesystem

Read the local repo and write the course

codebase-to-course: scan ./our-app, write /onboarding/course.html.✓ Copied
codebase-to-course-skill + git-mcp-idosal

Course up an external repo without cloning

Use GitMCP for owner/repo. Then codebase-to-course on top of that.✓ Copied

Tools

What this MCP exposes

ToolInputsWhen to callCost
scan_repo path Always first 0
propose_toc scan_result, audience After scan, before generation 0
generate_course scan_result, toc, target_html_path Final step 0
scope_to_subdir subdir_path Large monorepo or feature focus 0

Cost & Limits

What this costs to run

API quota
N/A
Tokens per call
Significant — the skill reads the whole repo (10k–50k tokens typical)
Monetary
Free; your model tokens apply
Tip
For monorepos, use scope_to_subdir; don't course up all of it at once

Security

Permissions, secrets, blast radius

Minimum scopes: filesystem-read filesystem-write
Credential storage: None
Data egress: None — purely local read/write

Troubleshooting

Common errors and fixes

Course is too generic / doesn't reference real code

Make the prompt more specific; ask for file:line citations

Repo too large; runs out of context

Use scope_to_subdir; do per-module courses and link them

HTML formatting broken

Ask the skill to validate the output; regenerate if needed

Alternatives

Codebase to Course vs others

AlternativeWhen to use it insteadTradeoff
Repomix + manual promptYou want full control of how the codebase is fed to ClaudeMore setup; no opinionated output format
DocsGPT / MintlifyYou want hosted docsDifferent product entirely; not single-file HTML
absolutely-skilled / autodocYou want auto-generated API docsAPI ref ≠ tutorial

More

Resources

📖 Read the official README on GitHub

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