Convex Explain App

by get-convex2cfe645c87f9No license63 starsListed Oct 8, 2026Updated Oct 8, 2026Repository updated 6 days ago

Explain an existing Convex app — data model + relationships, public vs internal functions, auth/ownership model, components, a request→data flow — read from the schema and function surface. Read-only.

AI-generated overview

Reads a Convex app's schema and function surface to produce a descriptive map of its data model, functions, auth and flows.

What it does
This skill inspects an existing Convex application's schema.ts and exported function surface to describe what the app currently is. It lists tables, fields, relationships and indexes, separates public from internal functions, and states the auth and ownership model. It also covers installed @convex-dev components, HTTP routes, crons and external calls, then traces one or two end-to-end request-to-data flows. Output is a scannable, read-only map that points to follow-up audit, scoring or extension capabilities.
When to use it
Use it when you need to understand an unfamiliar or existing Convex app before changing it. It fits as a first step in an optimization or self-heal session, or whenever the current architecture must be re-explained. It is descriptive only, so it is not for auditing, fixing or scoring the app.
Requirements
Requires access to the Convex app's source, specifically the convex/ directory, schema.ts and function files. If a deployment exists, the official Convex MCP is used for read-only functionSpec/tables introspection; otherwise the source is read directly. No scripts are shipped; instructions only.
<!-- GENERATED from convex-agents content/capabilities/explain-app.json — do not edit by hand. -->

Explain this Convex app

Before you can safely change an app you have to know what it is — and reading 15 function files top-to-bottom is slow and error-prone. This capability produces the map fast and accurately by reading the two sources that can't lie: the schema (the data model) and the function surface (functionSpec / the exported queries/mutations/actions). It is deliberately DESCRIPTIVE — it explains what IS, hands judgment to the audit capabilities and changes to the fixers. It is also the natural first step of an optimize or self-heal session, and the reusable 're-explain the current architecture' that 'change what you built' depends on.

Workflow

  1. DETECT the app: the convex/ directory, schema.ts, and whether a deployment exists (if one does, functionSpec/tables via the official MCP give the authoritative live surface; if not, read the source directly). deploy-guard classifies any deployment read as read-only.
  2. DATA MODEL: from schema.ts, list every table with its fields and, crucially, its RELATIONSHIPS — which v.id("other") fields point where, and which indexes exist (indexes reveal the intended access paths). Draw the foreign-key graph in words: 'tasks belong to projects (projectId) and users (ownerId); messages belong to conversations'.
  3. FUNCTION SURFACE: enumerate every exported function, split PUBLIC (query/mutation/action — the attack/API surface) from INTERNAL (internalQuery/... — not client-reachable), and for each give a one-line 'what it does + what it touches'. The public/internal split is the single most important thing a newcomer needs and the thing source-skimming most often gets wrong.
  4. AUTH / OWNERSHIP MODEL: state how identity is established (auth.config.ts provider? a users table keyed by tokenIdentifier?) and how ownership is enforced (is there a requireOwner-style check? which field is the owner?). Say plainly if there is NO auth foundation — that is load-bearing context for anyone about to change the app. (Describe the model; do not audit it for holes — that's convex-authz.)
  5. COMPONENTS + EXTERNAL EDGES: list the @convex-dev/* components installed (convex.config.ts) and what they provide, the HTTP routes (http.ts) and crons, and any external calls in actions (which APIs, which env vars).
  6. FLOW: trace 1-2 representative end-to-end paths ('client calls createTask → validates → inserts into tasks scoped to the caller → listMyTasks reads it back by the by_owner index') so the reader sees the moving parts connected, not just catalogued.
  7. PRESENT as a scannable map (data model → public/internal functions → auth model → components/edges → a flow or two), accurate to the source. End by pointing at the next verbs: convex-reviewer/convex-authz to audit it, launch-readiness to score it, design/convex-expert to extend it. Never invent behavior the source doesn't show; if something is ambiguous, say so rather than guessing.

Rules

  • Read the schema + function surface (functionSpec/source) as the source of truth — never describe behavior the code doesn't show; flag ambiguity instead of guessing.
  • Lead with the two things a newcomer most needs and skimming most often gets wrong: the data-model relationship graph and the public-vs-internal function split.
  • State the auth/ownership model plainly, including 'there is no auth foundation' when that's the case — but DESCRIBE it; auditing it for holes is convex-authz's job.
  • Descriptive, not evaluative: explain-app maps what IS and hands judgment to the audit capabilities and changes to the fixers.
  • Read-only: any deployment introspection is read-only (deploy-guard); the app is not modified.
  • End by pointing at the right next verb (audit → reviewer/authz, score → launch-readiness, extend → design/expert).

Source and attribution

Source:get-convex/agent-skillsinskills/convex-explain-appat commit2cfe645

License: No license

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