Code Archaeology Skill

Overview

Code Archaeology is a systematic analysis methodology for understanding legacy codebases and extracting actionable insights for modernization. This skill provides tools and workflows for:

• - Business Rule Extraction: Identify and document business logic from legacy code
• Technical Specification Generation: Extract data models, API contracts, and system architecture
• Security Risk Assessment: Identify security vulnerabilities and technical debt
• Migration Planning: Generate detailed migration requirements and task breakdowns
• AI Plan Generator Integration: Convert analysis results into AI-executable context documents

Unified Directory Structure

Code Archaeology results are organized in a standardized directory structure:

CODEBLOCK0

Core Capabilities

1. Multi-Round Analysis

• - Round 1: Business domain mapping and core architecture analysis
• Round 2: Deep technical assessment (security, performance, optimization)

2. Domain-Specific Analysis

• - Financial Management: Payment processing, invoicing, reconciliation
• Customer Management: User authentication, profile management
• Contract Management: Contract lifecycle, status transitions
• Supply Chain: Inventory, procurement, logistics

3. Security Risk Identification

• - Critical: Hardcoded credentials, SQL injection vulnerabilities
• High: Weak password storage, session management issues
• Medium: XSS/CSRF protection gaps, insecure file permissions

4. Technical Debt Assessment

• - Architecture: Monolithic limitations, lack of layered architecture
• Code Quality: Code duplication, outdated language features
• Maintainability: Missing documentation, poor test coverage
• Performance: Database query optimization, caching mechanisms

AI Plan Generator Integration

Code Archaeology results can be directly consumed by AI Plan Generator to create:

• - Campaign Documents: Strategic migration plans with clear boundaries
• Context Documents: AI-executable business rules and technical specifications
• Task Decomposition: Detailed implementation tasks with priorities and dependencies
• Validation Standards: Comprehensive testing requirements and acceptance criteria

Integration Workflow

CODEBLOCK1

Usage Guidelines

When to Use

• - Legacy System Modernization: Planning migration from PHP 5.x, legacy Java, etc.
• Business Logic Documentation: Extracting undocumented business rules
• Security Remediation: Identifying and prioritizing security vulnerabilities
• Technical Debt Reduction: Planning systematic codebase improvements

Input Requirements

• - Source Code Access: Full access to legacy codebase
• Business Context: Understanding of business domains and requirements
• Target Architecture: Clear vision of target modern architecture

Output Artifacts

• - Comprehensive Reports: Executive summaries and detailed technical analysis
• Actionable Recommendations: Prioritized improvement and migration tasks
• Risk Assessments: Security and business continuity risk evaluations
• Integration Ready: Structured data for AI Plan Generator consumption

Best Practices

Analysis Process

1. 1. Start Broad: Begin with high-level business domain mapping
2. Go Deep: Focus on critical domains (financial, security-sensitive)
3. Validate Findings: Cross-reference analysis results with business stakeholders
4. Iterate: Refine analysis based on feedback and new discoveries

Documentation Standards

• - Machine Readable: Structure outputs for AI consumption
• Human Understandable: Provide clear explanations for business stakeholders
• Action Oriented: Focus on actionable insights and recommendations
• Version Controlled: Track analysis evolution over time

Integration Patterns

• - ClawTeam Orchestration: Use analysis results to drive multi-agent coordination
• Continuous Validation: Regularly validate AI interpretations against original code
• Feedback Loops: Use implementation results to refine future analyses

Example Use Cases

Financial Module Migration

Input: Legacy PHP financial system with hardcoded credentials Analysis: Identifies payment processing logic, security vulnerabilities, data models Output: Complete migration plan with security remediation and validation standards

User Authentication Modernization

Input: Custom authentication system with weak password storage Analysis: Extracts user management workflows, identifies security gaps Output: Modern authentication implementation plan with proper security controls

API Standardization

Input: Inconsistent RPC-style APIs across multiple modules Analysis: Documents all API endpoints, request/response formats, error handling Output: RESTful API redesign specification with backward compatibility strategy

Code Archaeology transforms legacy code understanding from an art into a systematic, repeatable science that powers AI-driven modernization.

Integration Scripts

This skill includes integration scripts for converting Code Archaeology results to AI Plan Generator format:

• - convert-to-ai-plan-generator.cjs: Main conversion utility
• INLINECODE1: Core parsing and extraction logic
• INLINECODE2: File location and organization management

Usage

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