Explain For Dumb

explain-for-dumb

A [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) skill that helps you stay aligned with your codebase after delegating work to an agent.

Ask an agent to fix a bug, then step away. When you return, you don't want to read every line it touched — but you also don't want to merge code you can no longer explain. This skill reads the actual changes, understands them, and tells you what happened like you're a smart but tired human being.

Delegating implementation should not mean delegating understanding. `explain-for-dumb` helps you quickly regain the context you need to review, trust, and own the change.

What it does

• Figures out what to explain: the whole branch diff vs master, or just your uncommitted changes (it asks when both exist).
• Asks how you want it explained:
  • For dummies — one coherent story: how things worked before, what works now, and how it was done, in everyday analogies with almost no code.
  • Per-file walkthrough — file by file: what each file is responsible for, what changed and why, every new function in human words, with clickable links pointing at the exact changed lines.
• Actually reads the surrounding code, not just the diff — so explanations are true, not guessed.
• Answers in whatever language you're speaking in the session.
• Ends with a short 3–5 bullet summary.
• Never turns into a code review — no "risks", no "things to watch out for". It explains, it doesn't judge.

The goal is not to replace tests or review. It is to make agent-written changes understandable before you decide what to do with them.

How it decides what to do


Install

For humans

The easiest way — via the [skills.sh](https://skills.sh) CLI:

npx skills add MotleyWildside/explain-for-dumb

Or manually. Personal install — available in **all** your projects:

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/explain-for-dumb
curl -o ~/.claude/skills/explain-for-dumb/SKILL