{"slug": "i-made-a-cli-tool-that-replaces-the-first-15-minutes-of-exploring-any-new", "title": "I made a CLI tool that replaces the first 15 minutes of exploring any new codebase", "summary": "A developer built codeglance, a CLI tool that replaces the first 15-20 minutes of exploring a new codebase by generating a quick summary of the project, how to run it, which files to read first, and what tooling is set up. Running `npx codeglance` in any repo reads manifest files like package.json, go.mod, Cargo.toml, and pyproject.toml to identify the stack, and includes a `--for-ai` flag that produces a compact summary for pasting into AI tools like Claude or Cursor. Built in TypeScript with Commander and tsup, the tool supports Node.js, Python, Go, Rust, and C/C++ repos but does not parse source code or handle Java and Ruby yet.", "body_md": "You know that thing where you clone a repo and spend the first 15–20 minutes just trying to figure out what it even is?\n\nYou open package.json, look for scripts, check if there's a Dockerfile, search for the entry point, wonder if there are tests anywhere. And you do this every single time.\n\nI got annoyed enough to build something about it. It's called codeglance.\n\n**What it does**\n\nRun one command in any repo:\n\n```\nnpx codeglance\n```\n\nYou get a quick summary: what the project is, how to run it, which files to read first, and what tooling is set up. No config, no API keys, no setup.\n\nIt reads your manifest files: package.json, go.mod, Cargo.toml, pyproject.toml : and figures out the stack from there. Not just \"this is a TypeScript project\" but \"this is Next.js 14 with Prisma and tRPC.\"\n\nThe \"where to start\" section ranks files by depth, naming patterns, and known entry point conventions. Heuristic, not magic: but usually right enough to be useful.\n\nThere's also a --for-ai flag that generates a compact summary you can paste into Claude or Cursor before asking questions about a codebase. Saves you from dumping the whole repo in.\n\n**What it doesn't do**\n\nIt doesn't parse source code or understand logic. If a project has no standard manifest, the output will be shallow. File ranking is pattern-based, not import-graph analysis — so it's approximate. Java and Ruby aren't supported yet (on the roadmap).\n\n**How it's built**\n\nTypeScript, Commander for CLI parsing, tsup for bundling. 70 tests. Supports Node.js, Python, Go, Rust, and C/C++ repos. I used Claude Code heavily during development and I'm not pretending otherwise: I care more about whether the output is useful than getting credit for typing every line.\n\n**Try it**\n\n```\nnpx codeglance\nnpx codeglance ~/projects/some-repo\n```\n\nRepo: [https://github.com/mansoor-mamnoon/codeglance](https://github.com/mansoor-mamnoon/codeglance)\n\nIf the \"files to read first\" section is useless on your repos, I genuinely want to know: that's the part I'm least confident about. ⭐ if it saves you time.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/i-made-a-cli-tool-that-replaces-the-first-15-minutes-of-exploring-any-new", "canonical_source": "https://dev.to/mansoor_mamnoon/i-made-a-cli-tool-that-replaces-the-first-15-minutes-of-exploring-any-new-codebase-2p10", "published_at": "2026-06-03 02:23:58+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-03 02:42:00.954552+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-tools"], "entities": ["codeglance", "Next.js", "Prisma", "tRPC", "Claude", "Cursor", "TypeScript", "Commander"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/i-made-a-cli-tool-that-replaces-the-first-15-minutes-of-exploring-any-new", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/i-made-a-cli-tool-that-replaces-the-first-15-minutes-of-exploring-any-new.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/i-made-a-cli-tool-that-replaces-the-first-15-minutes-of-exploring-any-new.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/i-made-a-cli-tool-that-replaces-the-first-15-minutes-of-exploring-any-new.jsonld"}}