Productivity

developer-onboarding

aj-geddes/useful-ai-prompts · updated Apr 8, 2026

$npx skills add https://github.com/aj-geddes/useful-ai-prompts --skill developer-onboarding
summary

Create comprehensive onboarding documentation that helps new developers quickly set up their development environment, understand the codebase, and start contributing effectively.

skill.md

Developer Onboarding

Table of Contents

Overview

Create comprehensive onboarding documentation that helps new developers quickly set up their development environment, understand the codebase, and start contributing effectively.

When to Use

  • New developer onboarding
  • README file creation
  • Contributing guidelines
  • Development environment setup
  • Architecture overview docs
  • Code style guides
  • Git workflow documentation
  • Testing guidelines
  • Deployment procedures

Quick Start

Minimal working example:

# Project Name

Brief project description (1-2 sentences explaining what this project does).

[![Build Status](https://img.shields.io/github/workflow/status/username/repo/CI)](https://github.com/username/repo/actions)
[![Coverage](https://img.shields.io/codecov/c/github/username/repo)](https://codecov.io/gh/username/repo)
[![License](https://img.shields.io/github/license/username/repo)](LICENSE)
[![Version](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/package-name)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/package-name)

## Table of Contents

- [Features](#features)
- [Quick Start](#quick-start)
- [Prerequisites](#prerequisites)
- [Installation](#installation)
- [Configuration](#configuration)
- [Development](#development)
- [Testing](#testing)
- [Deployment](#deployment)
- [Architecture](#architecture)
- [Contributing](#contributing)
- [License](#license)

## Features

// ... (see reference guides for full implementation)
```

## Reference Guides

Detailed implementations in the `references/` directory:

| Guide | Contents |
|---|---|
| [Clone the Repository](references/clone-the-repository.md) | Clone the Repository, Install Dependencies |
| [Set Up Environment Variables](references/set-up-environment-variables.md) | Set Up Environment Variables |
| [Database Setup](references/database-setup.md) | Database Setup, Verify Installation |
| [Project Structure](references/project-structure.md) | Project Structure |
| [Available Scripts](references/available-scripts.md) | Available Scripts |
| [Code Style](references/code-style.md) | Code Style |
| [Git Workflow](references/git-workflow.md) | Git Workflow |
| [Running Tests](references/running-tests.md) | Running Tests |
| [Writing Tests](references/writing-tests.md) | Writing Tests |

## Best Practices

### ✅ DO

- Start with a clear, concise project description
- Include badges for build status, coverage, etc.
- Provide a quick start section
- Document all prerequisites clearly
- Include troubleshooting section
- Keep README up-to-date
- Use code examples liberally
- Add architecture diagrams
- Document environment variables
- Include contribution guidelines
- Specify code style requirements
- Document testing procedures

### ❌ DON'T

- Assume prior knowledge
- Skip prerequisite documentation
- Forget to update after major changes
- Use overly technical jargon
- Skip example code
- Ignore Windows/Mac/Linux differences
- Forget to document scripts