understanding-code-context

# Understanding Code Context

## Overview

**Core principle**: Use official documentation (Context7) to understand external libraries and frameworks instead of web search or reading source code.

This skill provides structured workflows for finding authoritative, version-specific documentation for external dependencies.

## When to Use

Use this skill when:
- Understanding how an external library/framework works
- Learning library concepts, patterns, and APIs
- Finding official documentation for dependencies
- Understanding library configuration and usage patterns

Don't use for:
- Exploring project code (use other tools)
- Finding implementations in your codebase
- Simple file content reading

## Context7 Tool Usage

**Primary tool**: Context7 provides authoritative, version-specific documentation for external libraries.

### Commands

```bash
# Step 1: Find library ID
resolve-library-id "library-name"

# Step 2: Get documentation
get-library-docs context7CompatibleLibraryID="/org/project"
```

### Search Strategy

When searching for library documentation, try multiple variations:

1. **Exact package name**: `"importmap-rails"`
2. **Framework + concept**: `"rails import maps"`
3. **Organization/repo**: `"rails/importmap"`
4. **Base name**: `"importmap"`

**Important**: Try 2+ variations before using WebSearch. Context7 has official, version-specific documentation. WebSearch gives you blog posts and outdated StackOverflow.

## Core Workflow

**Understanding External Library:**

```
1. resolve-library-id "library-name"
   - If not found: try variations (framework + concept, org/repo, base name)
   - Try 2+ variations before giving up
2. get-library-docs context7CompatibleLibraryID="/org/project"
3. Read and understand official patterns, APIs, and concepts
4. Apply understanding to project usage
```

**Example:**
```markdown
User: "Help me understand how importmap works and how to add a new library"

You:
1. resolve-library-id "importmap-rails"
   - If not found: try