Preparing Your Codebase for AI
Generate a hierarchical README for your codebase using AI
When working with large codebases, having clear documentation about each directory’s purpose and contents is crucial. This guide shows how to use Codegen and AI to automatically generate a hierarchical README that explains your codebase structure.
Generating Directory READMEs
Here’s how to recursively generate README files for each directory using AI:
This will create a hierarchy of README.md files that explain each directory’s purpose and contents. For example:
Customizing the Generation
You can customize the README generation by modifying the prompts and adding more context:
Best Practices
-
Keep Summaries Focused: Direct the AI to generate concise, purpose-focused summaries.
-
Include Key Information:
- Directory purpose
- Important patterns
- Key files and their roles
- How components work together
-
Maintain Consistency: Use consistent formatting and structure across all READMEs.
-
Update Regularly: Regenerate READMEs when directory structure or purpose changes.
-
Version Control: Commit generated READMEs to track documentation evolution.
The AI-generated summaries are a starting point. Review and refine them to ensure accuracy and completeness.
Be mindful of sensitive information in your codebase. Configure the generator to skip sensitive files or directories.
Was this page helpful?