Codebase-to-Ebook

Transform any codebase into a professional technical ebook with architecture diagrams, code walkthroughs, and design decision documentation.

What This Skill Does

1. Analyzes your codebase deeply — modules, architecture, data flows, tech stack
2. Designs a logical chapter structure — from overview to deep dives
3. Generates professional content — Markdown with Mermaid diagrams, code blocks, tables
4. Builds your ebook — HTML (browser) or EPUB (e-reader) format

Quick Start

Ask: "Turn this codebase into an ebook"

Or specify a project:

• "Generate an ebook from https://github.com/user/repo"
• "Create a technical book from ./my-project"

Output Formats

• HTML — Open in any browser, interactive Mermaid diagrams, best for desktop
• EPUB — Read on Kindle, iBooks, or any e-reader, diagrams as images

What You Get

A complete ebook with:

• Preface — Project overview and how to read the book
• Architecture chapters — System skeleton with diagrams
• Module deep dives — Each core component explained
• Design decision tables — Trade-offs and rationale
• Code walkthroughs — Key functions with detailed explanations

Example Output Structure

ebook-name/
├── metadata.yaml          # Book metadata
├── chapters/
│   ├── 00-preface.md      # Introduction
│   ├── 01-overview.md     # Project overview
│   ├── 02-architecture.md # System architecture
│   ├── 03-module-a.md     # Deep dive: Module A
│   └── ...
├── index.html             # HTML output
└── book.epub              # EPUB output

Who Is This For

Technical developers who want to:

• Understand a codebase's architecture and design decisions
• Onboard to a new project quickly
• Evaluate a library or framework
• Learn from open-source projects
• Document their own projects

Key Features

• Automatic chapter design — AI analyzes and structures the content
• Architecture diagrams — Mermaid diagrams showing module relationships
• Design decision documentation — Tables explaining trade-offs
• Code walkthroughs — Detailed explanations of key code
• Dual output — Same source generates HTML or EPUB
• Professional formatting — Clean typography and syntax highlighting

Requirements

• Pandoc (for ebook generation)
• mermaid-cli (for EPUB diagram rendering)

Install on macOS:

brew install pandoc
npm install -g @mermaid-js/mermaid-cli

How It Works

The skill follows a 5-phase pipeline:

1. Analysis — Deep codebase reading and understanding
2. Design — Chapter structure planning
3. Generation — Markdown content creation
4. Assembly — Build scripts generate HTML/EPUB
5. Delivery — Output files ready to use

Customization

The generated ebook is fully editable:

• Modify any .md file in the chapters/ directory
• Re-run build-html.sh or build-epub.sh to regenerate
• Adjust styles in styles/ directory

Comparison: Codebase-to-Course vs Codebase-to-Ebook

	Codebase-to-Course	Codebase-to-Ebook
Audience	Non-technical / Vibe Coders	Technical developers
Format	Interactive HTML course	Static ebook (HTML/EPUB)
Content	Tutorials with quizzes	Architecture guide
Visuals	Animations, interactions	Mermaid diagrams, tables
Depth	Concept explanations	Design decisions, trade-offs

Use codebase-to-course when teaching non-coders how software works. Use codebase-to-ebook when documenting architecture for developers.

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