are-help

First: Read .claude/ARE-VERSION and show the user the version: agents-reverse-engineer vX.Y.Z

Then: Output ONLY the reference content below. Do NOT add:

• •Project-specific analysis
• •Git status or file context
• •Next-step suggestions
• •Any commentary beyond the reference </objective>

ARE generates AI-friendly documentation for codebases, creating structured summaries optimized for AI assistants.

Quick Start

1. •/are-init — Create configuration file
2. •/are-generate — Generate documentation for the codebase
3. •/are-update — Keep docs in sync after code changes

Commands Reference

/are-init

Initialize configuration in this project.

Creates .agents-reverse-engineer/config.yaml with customizable settings.

Usage: /are-init CLI: npx are init

/are-discover

Discover files that would be analyzed for documentation.

Shows included files, excluded files with reasons, and generates a GENERATION-PLAN.md execution plan.

Options:

• •/are-discover — Discover files and generate execution plan

CLI:

npx are discover
npx are discover ./src

/are-generate

Generate comprehensive documentation for the codebase.

Options:

• •/are-generate — Generate docs
• •/are-generate --dry-run — Preview without writing
• •/are-generate --concurrency 3 — Limit parallel AI calls

CLI:

npx are generate
npx are generate --dry-run
npx are generate ./my-project --concurrency 3
npx are generate --debug --trace

How it works:

1. •Discovers files, applies filters, detects file types, and creates a generation plan
2. •Analyzes each file via concurrent AI calls, writes .sum summary files
3. •Generates AGENTS.md for each directory (post-order traversal)
4. •Creates root document: CLAUDE.md

/are-update

Incrementally update documentation for changed files.

Options:

• •/are-update — Update docs for committed changes
• •/are-update --uncommitted — Include uncommitted changes

CLI:

npx are update
npx are update --uncommitted
npx are update --dry-run
npx are update ./my-project --concurrency 3

/are-specify

Generate a project specification from AGENTS.md documentation.

Collects all AGENTS.md files, synthesizes them via AI, and writes a comprehensive project specification. Auto-runs generate if no AGENTS.md files exist.

Options:

• •/are-specify — Generate specification
• •/are-specify --dry-run — Preview without calling AI
• •/are-specify --output ./docs/spec.md --force — Custom output path

CLI:

npx are specify
npx are specify --dry-run
npx are specify --output ./docs/spec.md --force
npx are specify --multi-file

/are-rebuild

Reconstruct a project from specification documents.

Reads spec files from specs/, partitions them into ordered rebuild units, processes each via AI, and writes generated source files to an output directory. Supports checkpoint-based session continuity for resumable long-running rebuilds.

Options:

• •/are-rebuild --dry-run — Preview rebuild plan
• •/are-rebuild --output ./out --force — Rebuild to custom directory

CLI:

npx are rebuild --dry-run
npx are rebuild --output ./out --force
npx are rebuild --concurrency 3

How it works:

1. •Reads all spec files from specs/ directory
2. •Partitions specs into ordered rebuild units (from Build Plan phases or top-level headings)
3. •Processes units in order: sequentially between groups, concurrently within each group
4. •Accumulates context (export signatures) after each group for dependent phases
5. •Writes generated source files via ===FILE:=== delimited output parsing

Exit codes: 0 (success), 1 (partial failure), 2 (total failure)

/are-clean

Remove all generated documentation artifacts.

Options:

What gets deleted:

• •.agents-reverse-engineer/GENERATION-PLAN.md
• •All *.sum files
• •All AGENTS.md files
• •Root docs: CLAUDE.md

Usage:

• •/are-clean --dry-run — Preview deletions
• •/are-clean — Delete all artifacts

CLI:

npx are clean --dry-run
npx are clean

/are-help

Show this command reference.

CLI Installation

Install ARE commands to your AI assistant:

npx agents-reverse-engineer install              # Interactive mode
npx agents-reverse-engineer install --runtime claude -g  # Global Claude
npx agents-reverse-engineer install --runtime claude -l  # Local project
npx agents-reverse-engineer install --runtime all -g     # All runtimes

Install/Uninstall Options:

Configuration

File: .agents-reverse-engineer/config.yaml

# Exclusion patterns
exclude:
  patterns:
    - "**/*.test.ts"
    - "**/__mocks__/**"
  vendorDirs:
    - node_modules
    - dist
    - .git
  binaryExtensions:
    - .png
    - .jpg
    - .pdf

# Options
options:
  followSymlinks: false
  maxFileSize: 100000

# Output settings
output:
  colors: true

Generated Files

Per Source File

*.sum — File summaries with YAML frontmatter + detailed prose.

---
file_type: service
generated_at: 2025-01-15T10:30:00Z
content_hash: abc123...
purpose: Handles user authentication and session management
public_interface: [login(), logout(), refreshToken(), AuthService]
dependencies: [express, jsonwebtoken, ./user-model]
patterns: [singleton, factory, observer]
related_files: [./types.ts, ./middleware.ts]
---

<300-500 word summary covering implementation, patterns, edge cases>

Per Directory

AGENTS.md — Directory overview synthesized from .sum files. Groups files by purpose and links to subdirectories.

Root Documents

Common Workflows

Initial documentation:

/are-init
/are-generate

After code changes:

/are-update

Full regeneration:

/are-clean
/are-generate

Preview before generating:

/are-discover                   # Check files and exclusions
/are-generate --dry-run         # Preview generation

Tips

• •Custom exclusions: Edit .agents-reverse-engineer/config.yaml to skip files
• •Hook auto-update: Install creates a session-end hook that auto-runs update

Resources

• •Repository: https://github.com/GeoloeG-IsT/agents-reverse-engineer
• •Update: npx agents-reverse-engineer@latest install --force