{"slug":"wiki-onboarding","title":"wiki-onboarding","summary":"Generates four audience-tailored onboarding guides in an onboarding/ folder — Contributor, Staff Engineer, Executive, and Product Manager. Use when the user wants onboarding documentation for a codebase.","platform":"GitHub Copilot","tags":[],"authorName":"Ciza","authorSlug":"ciza","score":0,"source":"github","price":null,"verified":false,"createdAt":"2026-08-12T21:04:58.790751Z","repo":{"url":"https://github.com/microsoft/skills","stars":3052,"forks":351,"license":"MIT","updatedAt":"2026-09-24T16:38:17Z"},"bodyHtml":"
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name: wiki-onboarding\ndescription: Generates four audience-tailored onboarding guides in an onboarding/ folder — Contributor, Staff Engineer, Executive, and Product Manager. Use when the user wants onboarding documentation for a codebase.\nlicense: MIT\nmetadata:\nauthor: Microsoft\nversion: \"1.0.0\"

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Wiki Onboarding Guide Generator

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Generate four audience-tailored onboarding documents in an onboarding/ folder, each giving a different stakeholder exactly the understanding they need.

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Source Repository Resolution (MUST DO FIRST)

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Before generating any guides, you MUST determine the source repository context:

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  1. Check for git remote: Run git remote get-url origin to detect if a remote exists
    2. \n
  2. Ask the user: \"Is this a local-only repository, or do you have a source repository URL (e.g., GitHub, Azure DevOps)?\"\n\n
    3. \n
  3. Determine default branch: Run git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD
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  4. Do NOT proceed until source repo context is resolved
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When to Activate

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Output Structure

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Generate an onboarding/ folder with these files:

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onboarding/\n├── index.md                    # Onboarding hub — links to all 4 guides with audience descriptions\n├── contributor-guide.md        # For new contributors (assumes Python or JS background)\n├── staff-engineer-guide.md     # For staff/principal engineers\n├── executive-guide.md          # For VP/director-level engineering leaders\n└── product-manager-guide.md    # For product managers and non-engineering stakeholders\n
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index.md — Onboarding Hub

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A landing page with:

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GuideAudienceWhat You'll LearnTime
Contributor GuideNew contributors with Python/JS experienceSetup, first PR, codebase patterns~30 min
Staff Engineer GuideStaff/principal engineersArchitecture, design decisions, system boundaries~45 min
Executive GuideVP/directors of engineeringCapabilities, risks, team topology, investment thesis~20 min
Product Manager GuideProduct managersFeatures, user journeys, constraints, data model~20 min
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Language Detection

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Scan the repository for build files to determine the primary language for code examples:

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Guide 1: Contributor Guide

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File: onboarding/contributor-guide.md\nAudience: Engineers joining the project. Assumes proficiency in Python or JavaScript and general software engineering experience.\nLength: 1000–2500 lines. Progressive — each section builds on the last.

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Required Sections

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Part I: Foundations (skip if repo uses Python or JS)

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  1. for Python/JS Engineers — Syntax comparison tables, async model, collections, type system, package management. Concrete code side-by-side, NOT abstract descriptions.
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  2. Essentials — Compare to equivalent Python/JS frameworks (e.g., FastAPI, Express). Request pipeline, routing, DI, config.
    3. \n
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Part II: This Codebase\n3. What This Project Does — 2-3 sentence elevator pitch\n4. Project Structure — Annotated directory tree (what lives where and why). Include graph TB architecture overview.\n5. Core Concepts — Domain-specific terminology explained with code examples. Use erDiagram for data model.\n6. Request Lifecycle — sequenceDiagram (with autonumber) tracing a typical request end-to-end.\n7. Key Patterns — \"If you want to add X, follow this pattern\" templates with real code

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Part III: Getting Productive\n8. Prerequisites & Setup — Table: Tool, Version, Install Command. Step-by-step with expected output at each step.\n9. Your First Task — End-to-end walkthrough of adding a simple feature\n10. Development Workflow — Branch strategy, commit conventions, PR process. Use flowchart diagram.\n11. Running Tests — All tests, single file, single test, coverage commands\n12. Debugging Guide — Common issues table: Symptom, Cause, Fix\n13. Common Pitfalls — Mistakes every new contributor makes and how to avoid them

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Appendices

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Rules

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Guide 2: Staff Engineer Guide

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File: onboarding/staff-engineer-guide.md\nAudience: Staff/principal engineers who need the \"why\" behind every decision. Deep systems experience, may not know this repo's language.\nLength: 800–1200 lines. Dense, opinionated, architectural.

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Required Sections

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  1. Executive Summary — What the system is in one dense paragraph. What it owns vs delegates.
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  2. The Core Architectural Insight — The SINGLE most important concept. Include pseudocode in a DIFFERENT language from the repo.
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  3. System Architecture — Full Mermaid graph TB diagram. Call out the \"heart\" of the system.
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  4. Domain Model — Mermaid erDiagram of core entities. Data invariants table: Entity, Invariant, Enforced By, Source.
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  5. Key Abstractions & Interfaces — classDiagram showing load-bearing abstractions.
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  6. Request Lifecycle — sequenceDiagram (with autonumber) showing typical request from entry to response.
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  7. State Transitions — stateDiagram-v2 for entities with meaningful lifecycle states.
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  8. Decision Log — Table: Decision, Alternatives Considered, Rationale, Source.
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  9. Dependency Rationale — Table: Dependency, Purpose, What It Replaced, Source.
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  10. Data Flow & State — How data moves through the system. Storage comparison table.
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  11. Failure Modes & Error Handling — flowchart for error propagation paths.
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  12. Performance Characteristics — Bottlenecks, scaling limits, hot paths.
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  13. Security Model — Auth, authorization, trust boundaries, data sensitivity.
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  14. Testing Strategy — What's tested, what isn't, testing philosophy.
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  15. Known Technical Debt — Table: Issue, Risk Level, Affected Files, Source.
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  16. Where to Go Deep — Recommended reading order of source files, links to wiki sections.
    17. \n
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Rules

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Guide 3: Executive Guide

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File: onboarding/executive-guide.md\nAudience: VP/director of engineering. Needs capability overview, risk assessment, and investment context — NOT code-level details.\nLength: 400–800 lines. Strategic, concise, decision-oriented.

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Required Sections

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  1. System Overview — What it does, who uses it, business value in 2-3 sentences
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  2. Capability Map — Table: Capability, Status (Built/Partial/Planned), Maturity, Dependencies. What the system can and cannot do today.
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  3. Architecture at a Glance — High-level Mermaid graph LR diagram. Services, data stores, external integrations — NO internal code details. Focus on deployment units and team boundaries.
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  4. Team Topology — Which team/person owns which components. Table: Component, Owner, Criticality, Bus Factor.
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  5. Technology Investment Thesis — Why these technologies were chosen. Table: Technology, Purpose, Alternatives Considered, Risk Level.
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  6. Risk Assessment — Table: Risk, Likelihood, Impact, Mitigation, Owner. Cover reliability, security, scalability, compliance.
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  7. Cost & Scaling Model — How costs scale with usage. What the bottlenecks are. When the next scaling investment is needed.
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  8. Dependency Map — graph TB showing critical external dependencies. Table: Dependency, Type (Service/Library/Platform), Risk if Unavailable.
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  9. Key Metrics & Observability — What's measured, what dashboards exist, alerting coverage. Table: Metric, Current Value, Target, Source.
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  10. Roadmap Alignment — Engineering workstreams mapped to business priorities. What's in progress, what's planned, what's blocked.
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  11. Technical Debt Summary — Top 5 debt items with business impact. Table: Issue, Business Impact, Effort to Fix, Priority.
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  12. Recommendations — 3-5 actionable recommendations for the next quarter, prioritized by impact.
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Rules

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Guide 4: Product Manager Guide

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File: onboarding/product-manager-guide.md\nAudience: Product managers and non-engineering stakeholders. Needs to understand what the system does, what's possible, and where the boundaries are — NOT how it's built.\nLength: 400–800 lines. User-centric, feature-focused, constraint-aware.

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Required Sections

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  1. What This System Does — 2-3 sentence elevator pitch in user-facing language (no jargon)
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  2. User Journey Map — Mermaid graph LR or journey diagram showing primary user flows through the system
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  3. Feature Capability Map — Table: Feature, Status (Live/Beta/Planned/Not Possible), User-Facing Behavior, Limitations. Comprehensive map of what's built and what's not.
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  4. Data Model (Product View) — Simplified Mermaid erDiagram showing entities users interact with. Explain in business terms (e.g., \"A Project has many Documents\" not \"FK relationship\").
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  5. Configuration & Feature Flags — Table: Flag/Config, What It Controls, Default, Who Can Change It. What can be toggled without engineering work.
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  6. API Capabilities — What integrations are possible. Table: Capability, Endpoint/Method, Authentication, Rate Limits. Written for integration partners, not developers.
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  7. Performance & SLAs — Response times, throughput limits, availability targets. Table: Operation, Expected Latency, Throughput Limit, Current SLA.
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  8. Known Limitations & Constraints — Honest list of what the system can't do or does poorly. Table: Limitation, User Impact, Workaround, Planned Fix.
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  9. Data & Privacy — What data is collected, where it's stored, retention policies, compliance status. Table: Data Type, Storage Location, Retention, Compliance.
    10. \n
  10. Glossary — Domain terms explained in plain language (not engineering jargon)
    11. \n
  11. FAQ — 10+ common questions a PM would ask, answered concisely
    12. \n
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Rules

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Mermaid Diagram Rules (ALL guides)

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ALL diagrams must use dark-mode colors:

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Validation

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After generating each guide, verify:

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