RepoGuide — Legacy Codebase Onboarding Assistant

Problem Joining an unfamiliar software project can be difficult, especially for new developers, students, contributors, and engineers moving between codebases. A GitHub repository may contain hundreds of files, multiple technologies, complex dependencies, undocumented architecture, and project-specific setup requirements. Developers often spend significant time trying to understand where to start, which files matter, how the system works, how to run it locally, and where they can make a useful first contribution. Solution RepoGuide is an AI-powered developer onboarding agent that takes developers from an unfamiliar codebase to their first contribution. The user provides a GitHub repository, and RepoGuide ingests and analyzes the codebase to build repository-level intelligence. Instead of requiring developers to manually explore the entire project, RepoGuide organizes the information into an actionable onboarding experience. RepoGuide provides an architecture explorer that helps developers understand the major components and relationships within the repository. Its onboarding guidance identifies important files and provides a recommended “Read These Files First” path. The Setup Assistant helps developers understand the technologies, dependencies, commands, environment requirements, and steps needed to run the project. Developers can also ask repository-grounded questions such as how the frontend communicates with the backend, where database logic is implemented, or which technologies are used. Answers are connected to source evidence so users can verify the information directly in the repository. The First Contribution feature analyzes the repository and recommends practical contribution opportunities, helping users move beyond understanding the codebase toward actually contributing to it. RepoGuide also includes a safe repository file explorer and security protections around repository access and file handling. The overall workflow is: GitHub Repository → Repository Analysis → Architecture → Onboarding → Setup → Grounded Q&A → Source Evidence → First Contribution RepoGuide reduces the initial cognitive load of entering an unfamiliar codebase and creates a structured path from “I don't understand this repository” to “I know where to start contributing.”