Visualizing Codebases with Claude: A Guide to the Visual Explainer Skill

Overview of Visual Explainer

Reading raw code is often the slowest way to understand a complex system.

Visual Explainer

, a skill created by

, changes this by transforming codebase analysis into interactive HTML pages. Instead of scrolling through thousands of lines of

or

code, you get a high-level visual recap including architecture diagrams, role-based access matrices, and data flow charts. This matters because it bridges the gap between high-level project planning and low-level implementation details, making it indispensable for developers inheriting legacy systems.

Visualizing Codebases with Claude: A Guide to the Visual Explainer Skill — NEW Visual Explainer Skill: HTML Plans/Summaries (Claude Code Example)

Prerequisites

To get the most out of this tutorial, you should be comfortable with:

Command Line Interface (CLI): Running global commands and installing packages.
Claude Code: Familiarity with
Claude Code
or similar AI agents.
Git Basics: Understanding commit history and branching patterns.

Key Libraries & Tools

Claude Code
: The primary AI CLI agent that executes the commands.
Mermaid.js
: Often used under the hood to render the diagrams within the generated HTML.
MCP (Model Context Protocol): The framework allowing Claude to interact with your local file system and tools.

Code Walkthrough

Installing the skill is a straightforward global process. Once installed via the CLI, you can trigger specific visual prompts.

# Standard project recap command
/visual-explainer project-recap

When you run this, the tool parses your project identity, identifies core files, and slices the last 30 days of

history. For more granular insights, you can prompt for specific diagrams:

# Generate a role-based access diagram
/visual-explainer generate-web-diagram "roles and permissions"

This command triggers a specialized prompt that focuses on authentication flows and capability matrices, rendering a clean HTML dashboard. It looks at your routes and middleware to map out which user roles can access specific features.

Syntax Notes

The project utilizes "Ultra Think" prompts. These are deep-reasoning instructions that force the LLM to analyze file dependencies and history before generating output. While this increases token consumption, it ensures the diagrams accurately reflect the actual logic of the code rather than just making guesses based on file names.

Practical Examples

Imagine adopting a

project with five different user roles (Admin, Manager, Baker, etc.). Instead of manually mapping every policy, you run the web diagram skill. It produces an HTML table showing exactly which roles have access to the bakery management features, saving hours of manual audit time.

Tips & Gotchas

Token Management: Using the full recap on massive projects can consume a significant portion of your
Claude Code
session limits.
Scope Matters: Narrow your prompts. Asking for a "web diagram of the login flow" is faster and more accurate than a generic "show me everything" request.
Snapshot Accuracy: The tool relies on your current
Git
state; uncommitted changes are analyzed separately to show "work in progress" status.

Visualizing Codebases with Claude: A Guide to the Visual Explainer Skill

Fancy watching it?

Watch the full video and context

3 min read