Code Tour

Create CodeTour files — persona-targeted, step-by-step walkthroughs of a codebase that link directly to files and line numbers. CodeTour files live in .tours/ and work with the VS Code CodeTour extension.

Overview

A great tour is a narrative — a story told to a specific person about what matters, why it matters, and what to do next. Only create .tour JSON files. Never modify source code.

When to Use This Skill

• User asks to create a code tour, onboarding tour, or architecture walkthrough
• User says "tour for this PR", "explain how X works", "vibe check", "RCA tour"
• User wants a contributor guide, security review, or bug investigation walkthrough
• Any request for a structured walkthrough with file/line anchors

Core Workflow

1. Discover the repo

Before asking anything, explore the codebase:

In parallel: list root directory, read README, check config files. Then: identify language(s), framework(s), project purpose. Map folder structure 1-2 levels deep. Find entry points — every path in the tour must be real.

If the repo has fewer than 5 source files, create a quick-depth tour regardless of persona — there's not enough to warrant a deep one.

2. Infer the intent

One message should be enough. Infer persona, depth, and focus silently.

| User says | Persona | Depth | |-----------|---------|-------| | "tour for this PR" | pr-reviewer | standard | | "why did X break" / "RCA" | rca-investigator | standard | | "onboarding" / "new joiner" | new-joiner | standard | | "quick tour" / "vibe check" | vibecoder | quick | | "architecture" | architect | deep | | "security" / "auth review" | security-reviewer | standard | | (no qualifier) | new-joiner | standard |

When intent is ambiguous, default to new-joiner persona at standard depth — it's the most generally useful.

3. Read actual files

Every file path and line number must be verified. A tour pointing to the wrong line is worse than no tour.

4. Write the tour

Save to .tours/<persona>-<focus>.tour.

json
{
  "$schema": "https://aka.ms/codetour-schema",
  "title": "Descriptive Title — Persona / Goal",
  "description": "Who this is for and what they'll understand after.",
  "ref": "<current-branch-or-commit>",
  "steps": []
}

Step types

| Type | When to use | Example | |------|-------------|---------| | Content | Intro/closing only (max 2) | { "title": "Welcome", "description": "..." } | | Directory | Orient to a module | { "directory": "src/services", "title": "..." } | | File + line | The workhorse | { "file": "src/auth.ts", "line": 42, "title": "..." } | | Selection | Highlight a code block | { "file": "...", "selection": {...}, "title": "..." } | | Pattern | Regex match (volatile files) | { "file": "...", "pattern": "class App", "title": "..." } | | URI | Link to PR, issue, doc | { "uri": "https://...", "title": "..." } |

Step count

| Depth | Steps | Use for | |-------|-------|---------| | Quick | 5-8 | Vibecoder, fast exploration | | Standard | 9-13 | Most personas | | Deep | 14-18 | Architect, RCA |

Writing descriptions — SMIG formula

• S — Situation: What is the reader looking at?
• M — Mechanism: How does this code work?
• I — Implication: Why does this matter for this persona?
• G — Gotcha: What would a smart person get wrong?

5. Validate

• ] Every file path relative to repo root (no leading / or ./)
• ] Every file confirmed to exist
• ] Every line verified by reading the file
• ] First step has file or directory anchor
• ] At most 2 content-only steps
• ] nextTour matches another tour's title exactly if set

Personas

| Persona | Goal | Must cover | |---------|------|------------| | Vibecoder | Get the vibe fast | Entry point, main modules. Max 8 steps. | | New joiner | Structured ramp-up | Directories, setup, business context | | Bug fixer | Root cause fast | Trigger -> fault points -> tests | | RCA investigator | Why did it fail | Causality chain, observability anchors | | Feature explainer | End-to-end | UI -> API -> backend -> storage | | PR reviewer | Review correctly | Change story, invariants, risky areas | | Architect | Shape and rationale | Boundaries, tradeoffs, extension points | | Security reviewer | Trust boundaries | Auth flow, validation, secret handling | | Refactorer | Safe restructuring | Seams, hidden deps, extraction order | | External contributor | Contribute safely | Safe areas, conventions, landmines |

Narrative Arc

1. Orientation — file or directory step (never content-only first step — blank in VS Code)
2. High-level map — 1-3 directory steps showing major modules
3. Core path — file/line steps, the heart of the tour
4. Closing — what the reader can now do, suggested follow-ups

Anti-Patterns

| Anti-pattern | Fix | |---|---| | File listing — "this file contains the models" | Tell a story. Each step depends on the previous. | | Generic descriptions | Name the specific pattern unique to this codebase. | | Line number guessing | Never write a line you didn't verify by reading. | | Too many steps for quick depth | Actually cut steps. | | Hallucinated files | If it doesn't exist, skip the step. | | Recap closing — "we covered X, Y, Z" | Tell the reader what they can now do. | | Content-only first step | Anchor step 1 to a file or directory. |

Cross-References

• Related: engineering/codebase-onboarding — for broader onboarding beyond tours
• Related: engineering/pr-review-expert — for automated PR review workflows
• CodeTour extension: microsoft/codetour
• Real-world tours: coder/code-server