Skip to main content
/synclair/system answers the question the component library can’t: “what is this whole system made of?” Not the buttons — the backend and architecture. It’s the digest a new engineer (or agent) reads to get oriented in a codebase without opening a single source file.

​
What it is

A structured map of everything the codebase consists of below the UI:

Areas

The functional modules the system is organized into, and what each is responsible for.

API surface

The endpoints/routes the system exposes — the shape of how it’s called.

Data model

The core entities and how they relate — the nouns of the system.

Jobs & integrations

Background jobs, scheduled work, and the external services it talks to.

​
What’s in it

The map lives in data/system-map.json (schema: lib/system/system-map.ts) and renders at /synclair/system. It’s a digest, not a live introspection — a curated, readable summary produced by reading the code, so it stays scannable instead of drowning you in detail.

​
How it works

The map is generated by the codebase-map skill, driven by the system-mapper digger — an agent that reads the repo (this one, or the host repo in existing-app mode) in its own context and returns the structured digest. Because it’s a snapshot, it carries the commit it was generated from, so you can see when it’s drifted far from the current code.
It works on either repo: your own (new-project mode) or the host app you’re documenting (existing-app mode). Same map, same shape.

​
How to act on it

Run the codebase-map skill (“map the codebase”). It reads the code and writes data/system-map.json. Re-run it when the map’s snapshot commit has drifted behind.
Point a new engineer or agent at /synclair/system — it’s the fastest way to understand the architecture without spelunking through folders.
Use the areas + data model to see what a change touches before you start.

Related: App sitemap

The System Map covers the backend/architecture; the sitemap covers the views the app serves. Two halves of “what is this app.”