Now liveThe Skillselion MCP - thousands of ranked skills, loaded into your agent mid-task. No install.Get it →
lum1104 avatar

Understand Chat

  • 1.3k installs
  • 77.5k repo stars
  • Updated July 30, 2026
  • lum1104/understand-anything

understand-chat provides documented workflows for Use when you need to ask questions about a codebase or understand code using a knowledge graph

About

The understand-chat skill use when you need to ask questions about a codebase or understand code using a knowledge graph # /understand-chat Answer questions about this codebase using the knowledge graph at `.understand-anything/knowledge-graph.json`. ## Graph Structure Reference The knowledge graph JSON has this structure: - `project` - {name, description, languages, frameworks, analyzedAt, gitCommitHash} - `nodes[]` - each has {id, type, name, filePath?, summary, tags[], complexity, languageNotes?} - Code node types: file, function, class, module, concept - Non-code node types: config, document, service, table, endpoint, pipeline, schema, resource - Domain/knowledge node types: domain, flow, step, article, entity, topic, claim, source - IDs use the node type as prefix, e.g. `file:path`, `function:path:name`, `config:path`, `article:path` - `edges[]` - each has {source, target, type, direction, weight} - Key types: imports, contains, calls, depends_on, configures, documents, deploys, triggers, contains_flow, flow_step, related, cites - `layers[]` - each has {id, name, description, nodeIds[]} - `tour[]` - each has {order, title, description, nodeIds[]} ## How to Read Effi.

  • `project` - {name, description, languages, frameworks, analyzedAt, gitCommitHash}
  • `nodes[]` - each has {id, type, name, filePath?, summary, tags[], complexity, languageNotes?}
  • Code node types: file, function, class, module, concept
  • Non-code node types: config, document, service, table, endpoint, pipeline, schema, resource
  • Domain/knowledge node types: domain, flow, step, article, entity, topic, claim, source

Understand Chat by the numbers

  • 1,283 all-time installs (skills.sh)
  • +27 installs in the week ending Aug 5, 2026 (Skillselion tracking)
  • Ranked #75 of 911 Databases skills by installs in the Skillselion catalog
  • Security screen: LOW risk (skills.sh audit)
  • Data as of Aug 5, 2026 (Skillselion catalog sync)
At a glance

understand-chat capabilities & compatibility

Capabilities
`project` {name, description, languages, frame · `nodes[]` each has {id, type, name, filepath?, · code node types: file, function, class, module, · non code node types: config, document, service, · domain/knowledge node types: domain, flow, step,
Use cases
documentation
From the docs

What understand-chat says it does

# /understand-chat Answer questions about this codebase using the knowledge graph at `.understand-anything/knowledge-graph.json`.
SKILL.md
Use Grep to search within the JSON for relevant entries BEFORE reading the full file 2.
SKILL.md
npx skills add https://github.com/lum1104/understand-anything --skill understand-chat

Add your badge

Show developers this skill is listed on Skillselion. Paste this into your README.

Listed on Skillselion
Installs1.3k
repo stars77.5k
Security audit3 / 3 scanners passed
Last updatedJuly 30, 2026
Repositorylum1104/understand-anything

How do I use understand-chat for the task described in its SKILL.md triggers?

Use when you need to ask questions about a codebase or understand code using a knowledge graph

Who is it for?

Teams invoking understand-chat when the user request matches documented triggers and prerequisites.

Skip if: Skip when cached docs are missing, the request is a negative trigger, or another sibling skill owns the workflow.

When should I use this skill?

Use when you need to ask questions about a codebase or understand code using a knowledge graph

What you get

Step-by-step guidance grounded in understand-chat documentation and reference files.

  • Natural-language codebase answers
  • File and symbol pointers from graph nodes

By the numbers

  • Indexes 12 knowledge-graph node types spanning code and non-code entities
  • Stores project metadata including languages, frameworks, analyzedAt, and gitCommitHash

Files

SKILL.mdMarkdownGitHub ↗

/understand-chat

Answer questions about this codebase using the knowledge graph at .understand-anything/knowledge-graph.json.

Graph Structure Reference

The knowledge graph JSON has this structure:

  • project — {name, description, languages, frameworks, analyzedAt, gitCommitHash}
  • nodes[] — each has {id, type, name, filePath?, summary, tags[], complexity, languageNotes?}
  • Code node types: file, function, class, module, concept
  • Non-code node types: config, document, service, table, endpoint, pipeline, schema, resource
  • Domain/knowledge node types: domain, flow, step, article, entity, topic, claim, source
  • IDs use the node type as prefix, e.g. file:path, function:path:name, config:path, article:path
  • edges[] — each has {source, target, type, direction, weight}
  • Key types: imports, contains, calls, depends_on, configures, documents, deploys, triggers, contains_flow, flow_step, related, cites
  • layers[] — each has {id, name, description, nodeIds[]}
  • tour[] — each has {order, title, description, nodeIds[]}

How to Read Efficiently

1. Use Grep to search within the JSON for relevant entries BEFORE reading the full file 2. Only read sections you need — don't dump the entire graph into context 3. Node names and summaries are the most useful fields for understanding 4. Edges tell you how components connect — follow imports and calls for dependency chains

Instructions

1. Check that .understand-anything/knowledge-graph.json exists in the current project root. If not, tell the user to run /understand first.

2. Read project metadata only — use Grep or Read with a line limit to extract just the "project" section from the top of the file for context (name, description, languages, frameworks).

3. Search for relevant nodes — use Grep to search the knowledge graph file for the user's query keywords: "$ARGUMENTS"

  • Search "name" fields: grep -i "query_keyword" in the graph file
  • Search "summary" fields for semantic matches
  • Search "tags" arrays for topic matches
  • Note the id values of all matching nodes

4. Find connected edges — for each matched node ID, Grep for that ID in the edges section to find:

  • What it imports or depends on (downstream)
  • What calls or imports it (upstream)
  • This gives you the 1-hop subgraph around the query

5. Read layer context — Grep for "layers" to understand which architectural layers the matched nodes belong to.

6. Answer the query using only the relevant subgraph:

  • Reference specific files, functions, and relationships from the graph
  • Explain which layer(s) are relevant and why
  • Be concise but thorough — link concepts to actual code locations
  • If the query doesn't match any nodes, say so and suggest related terms from the graph

Related skills

Forks & variants (1)

Understand Chat has 1 known copy in the catalog totaling 703 installs. They canonicalize to this original listing.

How it compares

Choose understand-chat when a pre-built codebase graph already exists; use raw repo search skills when no graph has been generated.

FAQ

What does understand-chat do?

Use when you need to ask questions about a codebase or understand code using a knowledge graph

When should I use understand-chat?

Use when you need to ask questions about a codebase or understand code using a knowledge graph

What are common prerequisites?

--- name: understand-chat description: Use when you need to ask questions about a codebase or understand code using a knowledge graph argument-hint: [query] --- # /understand-chat Answer questions about this codebase usi

Is Understand Chat safe to install?

skills.sh reports 3 of 3 security scanners passed. Review the Security Audits panel on this page before installing in production.

Databasesdatabasespipelines

This week in AI coding

Five minutes, every Monday - the tools, releases and tactics for developers.

unsubscribe anytime.