Onboarding a Legacy Codebase Workflow Prompt
Overview: Inherit an undocumented system and map fragile areas.
SOP Instructions
08 - ONBOARDING A LEGACY CODEBASE
Treat this repository as an undocumented legacy system I just inherited with no handoff.
Identify:
- the language,
- framework,
- major dependency versions in use,
- whether any are outdated or deprecated.
Find where the actual business logic lives versus boilerplate or scaffolding.
Identify code that looks fragile:
- global mutable state,
- tightly coupled modules,
- magic numbers or strings with no explanation,
- missing error handling around external calls.
Tell me what would most likely break first if I made a careless change, and why.
Compile this into a short brief organized under these exact headings:
Stack
Core Logic
Fragile Areas
Safe First Changes