explain-code

Explain Code

Explain the user-scoped code as a short, scannable post. Prefer plain-English prose and small code sketches over exhaustive walkthroughs.

Defaults

• Match the user's scope exactly.
• Use this structure: # title, 📋 TLDR, then one or more ## sections.
• Each ## section covers one idea and includes at least one fenced code block.
• Keep prose simple and snippets small.
• Simplify code when useful, but stay faithful to behavior.
• Do not invent intent that the code or prompt does not support.

Format

# Title

One plain-English line naming the topic.

📋 TLDR

Write 2-3 short sentences that give the gist to someone who did not write the code.

Optional: include one small mermaid block only when the main story is easier to grasp as flow or handoff.

After the 📋 TLDR, add a horizontal rule: ---.

## Sections

For each section:

1. Write a plain-English ## title with at least one emoji.
2. Add a one- or two-sentence lead-in.
3. Show one fenced code block.

Stop the section after the code block.

Separate body sections with a horizontal rule: ---.

Prose

• One main idea per sentence.
• Use short, common words where possible.
• Start with the simple story, then add detail.
• Avoid dense sentences, unexplained jargon, and private shorthand.

Code

• Show only the code needed for the current section's point.
• Default to about 10 non-blank lines or fewer.
• Omit anything that does not help explain the current point.
• Use ..., // ..., placeholders, or simplified identifiers when that makes the idea easier to see.
• Every snippet must include short intent comments on the key lines. Use them to tell the reader what this line is doing here and why it matters.
• Prefer behavior-faithful sketches over verbatim excerpts.

Scope fallback

• If the user gives no scope and there are unstaged changes, default to the unstaged diff.
• If the user gives no scope and there are no unstaged changes, do not guess what to explain; explicitly ask the user to identify the file, diff, or area they want explained.

Guardrails

• Do not create prose-only ## sections.
• Do not add explanatory text after a section's code block.
• Do not include long literals, secrets, or opaque blobs when a placeholder teaches the same point.
• Do not turn the answer into a line-by-line transcript unless the user asked for that.