Exploring a Codebase
Discovery with glob, grep, reads, and optional Explore agent
Before changing anything, Claude Code maps the tree and reads selectively. Tool-usage guidance tells the model when to prefer fast search vs deep reads; the Explore agent can take over for broad reconnaissance.
6 stepsnavigationread-onlyagents
Step-by-step breakdown
1
⚙️Start as coding agent
Identity & IntroductionThe session is framed as a software engineering assistant with the same global guardrails as any other task.
Use the instructions below and the tools available to you to assist the user.
Techniques
role-settingguardrailsscope-limiting
2
⚙️When to use which tool
Tool Usage & Parallelism3
🔧Map file patterns
Glob Tool4
🔧Search contents
Grep Tool5
🔧Read key files
File Read Tool6
🤖Dedicated Explore subagent
Explore Agent — Read-Only Codebase Search Specialist