Codebase to Course (Claude Skill) — Install & Live Demo

Why use it

Key features

Single-file HTML output — no build pipeline
Architecture overview generated from real code (not the README)
Per-module 'why this exists + how it works' sections
Request-flow walkthroughs that follow real entrypoints
Annotated code blocks with line-by-line explanations
Designed for non-engineers (PMs, designers, new hires)

Live Demo

What it looks like in practice

ready

Install

Pick your client

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "codebase-to-course-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/zarazhangrui/codebase-to-course",
        "~/.claude/skills/codebase-to-course"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config. Restart after saving.

~/.cursor/mcp.json · .cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "codebase-to-course-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/zarazhangrui/codebase-to-course",
        "~/.claude/skills/codebase-to-course"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Cursor uses the same mcpServers schema as Claude Desktop. Project config wins over global.

VS Code → Cline → MCP Servers → Edit

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "codebase-to-course-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/zarazhangrui/codebase-to-course",
        "~/.claude/skills/codebase-to-course"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Click the MCP Servers icon in the Cline sidebar, then "Edit Configuration".

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "codebase-to-course-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/zarazhangrui/codebase-to-course",
        "~/.claude/skills/codebase-to-course"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Same shape as Claude Desktop. Restart Windsurf to pick up changes.

~/.continue/config.json

{
  "mcpServers": [
    {
      "name": "codebase-to-course-skill",
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/zarazhangrui/codebase-to-course",
        "~/.claude/skills/codebase-to-course"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Continue uses an array of server objects rather than a map.

~/.config/zed/settings.json

{
  "context_servers": {
    "codebase-to-course-skill": {
      "command": {
        "path": "git",
        "args": [
          "clone",
          "https://github.com/zarazhangrui/codebase-to-course",
          "~/.claude/skills/codebase-to-course"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to context_servers. Zed hot-reloads on save.

claude mcp add codebase-to-course-skill -- git clone https://github.com/zarazhangrui/codebase-to-course ~/.claude/skills/codebase-to-course

One-liner. Verify with claude mcp list. Remove with claude mcp remove.

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'.

Prerequisites

Skill installed — git clone https://github.com/zarazhangrui/codebase-to-course ~/.claude/skills/codebase-to-course
Repo checked out — Standard git clone

Flow

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
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
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

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

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

Tool	Inputs	When to call
scan_repo	path	Always first
propose_toc	scan_result, audience	After scan, before generation
generate_course	scan_result, toc, target_html_path	Final step
scope_to_subdir	subdir_path	Large monorepo or feature focus

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

Generated course may include code excerpts; review before sharing externally if repo has secrets

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

Alternative	When to use it instead	Tradeoff
Repomix + manual prompt	You want full control of how the codebase is fed to Claude	More setup; no opinionated output format
DocsGPT / Mintlify	You want hosted docs	Different product entirely; not single-file HTML
absolutely-skilled / autodoc	You want auto-generated API docs	API ref ≠ tutorial

More

Resources

📖 Read the official README on GitHub

🐙 Browse open issues

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