Understanding someone else’s code

What gets in the way

• You have joined an unfamiliar project and need to get up to speed fast.
• You need an answer about one specific place in the code, not an hour of reading.
• You want to test a hypothesis without changing anything.
• You need to know what changed in a branch, or the status of a task.

Ask a question — Buff reads the source code, as well as connected trackers and documents, and answers with links to specific files, changing nothing. “Where is the /search response built?”, “What changed in the branch?”, “What is the status of task No. …?” — a quick way to test a hypothesis and find the right place. No development project is needed for this: it works with any connected repository.

When you need the overall picture rather than a precise answer, an audit reviews the whole project: domains, architecture, dependencies, behaviour and risk areas. The ready sections explain the structure without reading the code line by line.

If the question is complex and needs working through rather than a chat answer, deep research by two agents prepares a verified document on your code and connected knowledge sources, with options and reasoning.