how
How
Read the host adapter once per session before following this skill. It maps upstream Cursor-specific tool, model, path, and permission instructions to your host and sets authority limits.
Explore the codebase to answer "how does X work?" questions. Produce architectural explanations at the level of a senior engineer onboarding onto a subsystem, enough to build a working mental model, not so much that it reads like annotated source code.
Every spawn is a Task subagent with subagent_type: generalPurpose and readonly: true. Explorers use the how explorer line in the model rule (default inherit-parent), and every explainer uses the how explainer line (default claude-opus-5-5-xhigh). Set model to that line's value, or to the default if the rule or the line is missing. Leave model unset when the value is auto or inherit-parent. If the Task tool rejects a slug, use the default and say so. If it rejects the default, use the closest valid slug of the same family from its error message. Pick each subagent's reasoning level and fast or standard speed for the job, per the Subagents section of the saltmode skill.
1. Assess complexity
If the scope is ambiguous, state your interpretation and explore. The user can redirect.
- Simple (a single module, a small utility, a narrow question such as "how does function X work"): no explorers. Spawn one explainer that explores and explains in one pass, built from
references/explainer-prompt.mdwithout the explorer-findings section. Go to step 4. - Complex (a subsystem spanning multiple files or services, a cross-cutting feature, a full architectural overview): go to step 2.