RepoRamp

RepoRamp is a local-first CLI for understanding unfamiliar Python repositories quickly.

It helps contributors, maintainers, and reviewers answer the first few questions that slow down every handoff:

• What does this repository do?
• Where is the entry point?
• Which files should I read first?
• Where are the tests and configuration files?

RepoRamp stays intentionally simple:

• local-first and offline
• deterministic terminal output
• no model API required
• focused on repository orientation, not code generation

Project Status

RepoRamp is an early-stage open source tool with a working CLI, fixture-backed tests, and a deliberately narrow scope.

The near-term focus is:

• better Python repository coverage
• clearer maintainer-oriented summaries
• more fixture repositories from real-world layouts
• a contributor experience that stays lightweight and approachable

Why This Project Exists

A lot of open source friction is not "writing code" but getting oriented inside a new codebase fast enough to make a useful change.

RepoRamp is built for that first 10-minute onboarding window. It scans a Python repository, extracts lightweight structural signals, and turns them into a summary you can actually use before making edits.

That makes it a good fit for:

• first-time contributors exploring an unfamiliar repo
• maintainers reviewing small utilities and dependencies
• developers returning to an older internal or OSS project
• people triaging bugs in a codebase they did not originally write

What RepoRamp Does Today

RepoRamp builds a lightweight repository index from filesystem structure, Python AST parsing, and common project metadata.

Current capabilities:

• detect likely entry points
• surface configuration files
• surface pyproject.toml build backends and project scripts
• surface README and docs/ content in suggested reading order
• turn supported ask prompts into contributor-oriented onboarding hints
• locate tests and describe package layout shape
• highlight important files with short reasons
• answer a constrained set of repository-orientation questions

Quickstart

python -m venv .venv
.venv/Scripts/activate
pip install -e ".[dev]"
reporamp --version
python -m repo_ramp --version
reporamp summary path/to/repo
reporamp summary path/to/repo --markdown
reporamp summary path/to/repo --json
reporamp summary path/to/repo --markdown --output summary.md
reporamp files path/to/repo
reporamp files path/to/repo --json
reporamp files path/to/repo --output key-files.txt
reporamp ask path/to/repo "Where is the config?"
reporamp ask path/to/repo "Where is the config?" --json
reporamp ask path/to/repo "Where are the docs?"
reporamp ask path/to/repo "Where is the README?"
reporamp ask path/to/repo "Where is the config?" --json --output config.json

If you only want the runtime install without test tooling, pip install -e . still works.

Local Development

Use the dev extra for the shortest contributor setup path:

python -m venv .venv
.venv/Scripts/activate
pip install -e ".[dev]"
python -m repo_ramp --version
python -m repo_ramp summary tests/fixtures/basic_cli --markdown
pytest -q

That makes quick local verification a little easier for contributors and evaluators who want to run the project before installing the console script globally.

Demo

Real CLI examples live in examples/demo-session.md.

Here is a short sample from the current tool:

Repository: tool-cli

Entry Points:
- tool_cli/cli.py (__main__ block)

Tests:
- none detected

Documentation:
- README.md

Package Layout:
- Style: flat layout
- Package roots:
  - tool_cli
- Import roots:
  - tool_cli

Pyproject Metadata:
- Build backend: setuptools.build_meta
- Project scripts:
  - tool-cli -> tool_cli.cli:main

Suggested Reading Order:
- pyproject.toml: project configuration
- README.md: project overview and setup guide
- tool_cli/cli.py: likely startup or high-value module

Framework Hints:
- typer

Project Docs

If you are evaluating the project quickly, these are the best next reads:

• Architecture
• Roadmap
• Release Preview
• Contributing Guide

Why Maintainers Might Use It

RepoRamp is designed for the repeated work around open source maintenance, not just one-off demos.

• onboarding a new contributor to an unfamiliar part of the repo
• getting a fast structural read before reviewing a PR
• triaging issues in a codebase you have not touched recently
• checking a small dependency or utility before adopting it

Commands

• reporamp summary <path> prints a deterministic repository overview.
• reporamp summary <path> --markdown renders the same overview as Markdown.
• reporamp summary <path> --json renders the overview as structured JSON.
• reporamp summary <path> --output <file> writes the rendered summary to a file.
• reporamp files <path> lists the most important files and why they matter.
• reporamp files <path> --json renders key-file suggestions as structured JSON.
• reporamp files <path> --output <file> writes the file report to a file.
• reporamp ask <path> "<question>" answers supported repository-orientation questions.
• reporamp ask <path> "<question>" --json returns structured question/answer output.
• reporamp ask <path> "<question>" --output <file> writes the rendered answer to a file.

Example Questions

reporamp ask path/to/repo "Where is the config?"
reporamp ask path/to/repo "Where are the docs?"
reporamp ask path/to/repo "Where is the README?"
reporamp ask path/to/repo "Where are the tests?"
reporamp ask path/to/repo "What commands are available?"
reporamp ask path/to/repo "Which files should I read first?"
reporamp ask path/to/repo "What is the package layout?"
reporamp ask path/to/repo "How does this project start?"

Project Scope

RepoRamp is deliberately narrow in the first release.

In scope:

• Python repositories
• CLI tools, libraries, src/ layouts, and simple web apps
• explainable heuristics over opaque scoring

Out of scope:

• editing or refactoring code
• free-form chat
• multi-language analysis
• cloud-only or paid-API workflows

Why It Fits Open Source Workflows

For open source maintainers, repository understanding is a repeated maintenance task:

• onboarding contributors
• reviewing pull requests in unfamiliar areas
• checking small dependencies before adoption
• documenting project structure for new users

RepoRamp aims to make that workflow faster with a tool that is transparent, testable, and useful even without any hosted service.

Current Status

This project is early-stage, but it already has:

• a working CLI
• fixture-backed tests
• deterministic outputs suitable for demos and CI checks
• a codebase small enough for contributors to understand quickly
• a public contribution guide
• a CI workflow that runs the test suite on push and pull request
• real example output checked into the repository for quick evaluation
• a public roadmap and initial release notes for evaluators

Roadmap

The short version:

• broader framework hints for common Python stacks
• better ranking for "read this first" files
• richer summaries for pyproject.toml and package scripts
• file export for docs and onboarding workflows

More detail lives in docs/roadmap.md.

If you want the first-release framing, see docs/releases/v0.1.0-preview.md.

If you want the implementation overview, see docs/architecture.md.

Contributing

If you want to help, good contribution areas include:

• more Python fixture repositories
• better heuristics for entry-point detection
• clearer summary formatting
• support for more real-world project layouts

See CONTRIBUTING.md for setup, scope, and pull request expectations.

License

This project is available under the MIT License.