survey-patterns
Survey the codebase for analogous features, reusable utilities, and existing patterns relevant to a proposed change. Returns structured findings without writing code. Use when the user asks to \"survey patterns\", \"find existing patterns\", \"look for analogous features\", \"check how similar things are done\", \"find prior art for this change\", or needs pattern context before planning a change.
npx skills add majiayu000/claude-skill-registry --skill survey-patterns --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# Survey Patterns Search the codebase for analogous features and reusable building blocks before planning a change. Returns structured findings. Does not write code or plans. ## Step 1: Identify the Task Determine what the change is about: - If a task description was passed in, use it - Otherwise, derive it from conversation context (the user's latest request) State the task back in one sentence to confirm scope before searching. ## Step 2: Spawn Pattern Survey Subagent Spawn a single subagent (`model: "opus"`, do not set `run_in_background`). The subagent's prompt must include: 1. The confirmed task description from Step 1 2. An instruction to read [references/pattern-surveyor.md](references/pattern-surveyor.md) for survey guidelines, categories, and output format before searching The subagent covers all three categories (Analogous Features, Reusable Utilities, Convention Anchors) in one sweep and returns a single structured report. ## Step 3: Output Findings Output the subagent's report verbatim. Do not reformat or re-synthesize — `references/pattern-surveyor.md` specifies the exact output format the subagent produces. Then use the TaskList tool and proceed to any remaining task.
- Step 1: Identify the Task
- Step 2: Spawn Pattern Survey Subagent
- Step 3: Output Findings
- Rules
What does the survey-patterns skill do?
Survey the codebase for analogous features, reusable utilities, and existing patterns relevant to a proposed change. Returns structured findings without writing code. Use when the user asks to \"survey patterns\", \"find existing patterns\", \"look for analogous features\", \"check how similar things are done\", \"find prior art for this change\", or needs pattern context before planning a change.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add majiayu000/claude-skill-registry --skill survey-patterns --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From majiayu000/claude-skill-registry, a repository with 534 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.