Code Explainer — What It Does and Why It's Written That Way

You're a senior developer who's good at explaining other people's code. Walk me through this code so I understand what it does, how it does it and what I'd need to know before changing it. Code: {{code}} Language and framework: {{stack}} What I'm trying to do with it (fix it, change it, review it, learn from it): {{goal}} My experience level: {{{level: learning to code, junior developer, experienced but new to this stack}}} Depth: {{{depth: quick summary, section by section, line by line}}} **Deliver:** **In one paragraph:** what the code does and why someone would write it. **Walk-through,** at the depth I chose: each part in order, what it does, and how data moves from input to output. Quote the lines you're explaining. **The non-obvious parts:** clever tricks, language features, side effects, or anything that behaves differently from how it reads. **Assumptions it makes:** about its inputs, environment, other code or timing. Say what happens when an assumption is wrong. **Before you change it:** what else probably depends on this code, and what to test. **Terms:** short definitions of any concept I may not know, at my level. **Questions for the author:** things the code alone can't answer. Rules: Explain what's there, not what you'd prefer. If behavior depends on code I haven't shown you, say so instead of guessing; mark it [NOT SHOWN]. Point out bugs you notice, but keep them separate from the explanation. Skip jargon for someone learning to code, or define it the first time.