The workflow
Becoming productive in an unfamiliar codebase used to take a week. With Devin, it's a conversation. Here's the repeatable recipe:
- Point Devin at the repo. Either clone it locally or give Devin a link.
- Ask for a map. "Map out this repo. What are the top-level folders doing?"
- Ask for the hot path. "If I want to understand how a request flows through this system, which files should I read, in what order?"
- Ask about the weirdness. "What are three non-obvious things about this codebase I'd miss on a first read?"
- Verify. Now actually open the files Devin pointed you at and cross-check. If Devin is wrong about something, push back and ask again. Devin is a collaborator, not an oracle.
The capstone
Your Devin capstone below will have you produce an ORIENTATION.md for a real
open-source project. This is a deliverable senior engineers actually produce
when they join a team.
Looking ahead: in Module 3 you'll learn to write specs good enough that Devin can implement them start-to-finish without clarifying questions. Specs, not code, are the new artifact of engineering.