PlugWiki

Understand Anything: Claude Code plugin for codebase graphs

A Claude Code plugin that maps your codebase into an interactive graph you can explore, search and ask questions about.

Skills
9
included
Hooks
2
included
Agents
10
included
Stars
89.6K
on GitHub
Included
9
listed

Understand Anything makes Claude Code read your project and build an interactive map of its files, functions and how they connect. You explore the map in a local dashboard, ask questions about the code, and get guided tours and onboarding guides. The first run reads the whole project, so it can use a lot of tokens on a large repo, and later runs only redo what changed. It is not in Anthropic's official marketplace, so install it from the author's repo with the command in the install box.

Good for

  • Developers joining a project who need to see how the code fits together
  • Teams that want an onboarding guide for new hires
  • Reviewers who want to know what a change touches before they merge
  • People working in a big or unfamiliar monorepo
  • Anyone who can spend tokens up front for a reusable map

Install understand-anything

Claude Code

  1. 1

    Copy this prompt.

    Install the understand-anything plugin in Claude Code. Run this command:

/plugin marketplace add Egonex-AI/Understand-Anything
/plugin install understand-anything

Then check that it loaded and tell me how to use it.
  2. 2

    Paste it into Claude Code. It shows the change and asks before running it.

Requires Node.js 22 or later, pnpm 10 or later.

The first /understand builds the plugin and then reads your whole codebase, which can use a lot of your Claude usage on a large repo.

From the project README. Source.

Key facts

Author
Egonex (Yuxiang Lin, GitHub Lum1104)
License
MIT
Version
2.9.8
Last release
v2.9.0, July 10, 2026 (later versions are not tagged as releases)
Last commit
October 26, 2026
Created
March 15, 2026
Contains
9 skills (each one a slash command), 10 agents, 2 hooks, 0 MCP servers
Works in
Claude Code (native), Cursor, VS Code with Copilot, Copilot CLI, Codex, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, Cline
Requires
Node.js 22+ and pnpm 10+ for analysis; Node.js 18+ for the standalone viewer

What it includes

  • Builds the interactive graph of your codebase

    Reads your project, finds files, functions, classes and imports, and has the model write summaries, layers and tours. Saves the result as .ua/knowledge-graph.json. Later runs only redo changed files.

    Try: “/understand src/frontend”

    Runs code · /understand

  • Opens the graph in a local web page

    Starts a local web server on your machine and opens the graph in your browser. Use the address it prints, which includes an access token.

    Try: “/understand-dashboard”

    Runs code · /understand-dashboard

  • Answers questions using the graph

    Looks up the graph to answer questions about how your code works.

    Try: “/understand-chat How does the payment flow work?”

    Files · /understand-chat

  • Shows what a change touches and the risks

    Checks your uncommitted changes or a pull request against the graph and lists affected parts and risks.

    Try: “/understand-diff”

    Runs code · /understand-diff

  • Explains one file, function or module

    Gives a deeper walk-through of a single piece of code using what the graph knows around it.

    Try: “/understand-explain src/auth/login.ts”

    Files · /understand-explain

  • Writes an onboarding guide

    Produces a guide for a new teammate from the graph: layers, key parts and where to start.

    Try: “/understand-onboard”

    Write · /understand-onboard

  • Maps business flows and process steps

    Extracts business domains and flows from the code into a separate domain graph.

    Try: “/understand-domain”

    Write · /understand-domain

  • Turns a notes wiki into a graph

    Builds a graph of entities, links and topic clusters from a folder of LLM-maintained wiki notes.

    Try: “/understand-knowledge ~/path/to/wiki”

    Write · /understand-knowledge

  • Builds a design graph from a Figma file

    Reads a Figma file through the Figma API and builds a design graph. Needs a FIGMA_TOKEN and is the one skill that is not fully offline.

    Try: “/understand-figma”

    Write · /understand-figma

  • Used by the assistant behind the scenes

    Checks if the graph is out of date

    A shell check at session start. If auto-update is on and the saved commit differs from git HEAD, it tells Claude to update the graph without asking. Otherwise it prints nothing.

    Runs code · SessionStart hook

  • Refreshes the graph after a commit

    After each Bash call, a Node script checks for git commit, merge, cherry-pick or rebase. If auto-update is on and a graph exists, it tells Claude to update the graph.

    Runs code · PostToolUse hook (Bash)

  • Finds files, languages and frameworks

    A helper agent that /understand and related skills call during analysis.

    Read · project-scanner agent

From the official docs

Permissions

Medium risk

Its hooks and first-run commands can change your project and your session without much warning. Keep auto-update off unless you want that, and read each shell prompt on the first run.

What it can do

Watch out for

  • Two hooks run on every session and Bash call

    The SessionStart hook is a shell check and the PostToolUse hook (on Bash) is a Node script. Both only read .ua/ files and git state, and with auto-update on they tell Claude to refresh the graph without asking. github.com

  • First run installs packages and asks a lot

    It runs a package install and builds the plugin, and people report dozens of shell approval prompts. Read the prompts rather than approving everything blindly. github.com

  • The dashboard is a local web server

    It listens on 127.0.0.1 and needs the token in the address it prints. Open that exact address and do not share it. github.com

  • The Figma skill sends your token to Figma

    Only /understand-figma calls api.figma.com. Skip it if you do not want a Figma token in your environment. github.com

  • Auto-update is off until you turn it on

    The hooks stay silent unless auto-update is set in .ua/config.json and a graph exists. Leave it off if you want to approve every refresh. github.com

  • Your source goes to your assistant's model

    Claude (or your other assistant) reads your files to write the summaries. For private code, point it at a local model. github.com

  • The one-line installer clones and links files

    For non-Claude clients, install.sh clones the repo to ~/.understand-anything/repo and links skills into the client's skills folder. Read the script before you pipe it to bash. github.com

Security advisories

No published security advisories as of Nov 2, 2026.

Technical details
Turning on read-onlyTo only view an existing graph, run the standalone viewer from the latest release with the project path. It serves read-only from local disk and makes no model calls. Analysis itself always writes .ua/.
Talks toapi.figma.com (only /understand-figma, with your FIGMA_TOKEN). GitHub releases (dashboard viewer download via npx). Your assistant's model provider (it reads your source to write summaries)
Sign-in and keysNo account. The dashboard uses a token in the URL it prints. FIGMA_TOKEN is read from your environment only for the Figma skill.
Data retentionThe graph stays in .ua/knowledge-graph.json in your project. SECURITY.md says the plugin does not phone home.
Scopes

  • Reads your project files

  • Writes the graph to .ua/ in your project

  • Runs package installs and shell commands on first use

Works in

Claude Code is the native target. Other assistants install through the README's script or plugin commands.

Tap an app to see how to set it up and any known problems.

What people say

People like the answers once the graph exists and dislike how many tokens and prompts the first run takes.

What people like

  • Follow-up commands like chat and explain give richer answers than plain Claude Code, one user says.
  • Better Stack found the architecture graph, guided tours and dependency path finder useful on a microservices demo.
  • Free, MIT licensed, and later runs only redo changed files.

Common complaints

  • The first run is slow and token-heavy, and users report hitting 5-hour and weekly limits on large repos.
  • Dozens of shell approval prompts make the first run long.
  • The graph is a snapshot that has to be rebuilt as the code changes.
  • Some Hacker News commenters doubt a big node graph beats reading the code or asking the assistant directly.

In their words

GitHub issueMay 2026
“I'm using opus4.7 xhigh in Claude code and have only reached stage 2. My 5-hour quota has been exhausted. This consumption of tokens is too much.”
Xu-ywGitHub issueApr 2026
“the subsequent commands like `/understand-chat` and `/understand-explain` return much richer and more useful results compared to using plain Claude Code.”
Antoliny0919BlogJul 2026
“For the Online Boutique demo, this took approximately 30 minutes and consumed around 200,000 tokens.”
Stanley UliliBlogJul 2026
“The token cost is the main practical constraint.”
Stanley Ulili
1 more quote
Hacker NewsMay 2026
“What evidence is there that this makes any difference at all? There are a gazillion (and one) codebase understanding solutions using knowledge graphs. How do I know if it's any good compared to just using Codex or Claude Code?”
docheinestages

Included in this plugin

9

  • understand

    Analyze a codebase to produce an interactive knowledge graph for understanding architecture, components, and relationships

    5.5K installs
  • understand-chat

    Use when you need to ask questions about a codebase or understand code using a knowledge graph

    3.9K installs
  • understand-dashboard

    Launch the interactive web dashboard to visualize a codebase's knowledge graph

    4K installs
  • understand-diff

    Use when you need to analyze git diffs or pull requests to understand what changed, affected components, and risks

    3.8K installs
  • understand-domain

    Extract business domain knowledge from a codebase and generate an interactive domain flow graph. Works standalone (lightweight scan) or derives from an existing /understand knowledge graph.

    3.8K installs
  • understand-explain

    Use when you need a deep-dive explanation of a specific file, function, or module in the codebase

    4K installs
  • understand-figma

    Analyze a Figma file via the Figma REST API and generate an interactive design knowledge graph (pages, screens, components, component sets, instances, design tokens) with a kind:"design" dashboard.

    90K GitHub stars
  • understand-knowledge

    Analyze a Karpathy-pattern LLM wiki knowledge base and generate an interactive knowledge graph with entity extraction, implicit relationships, and topic clustering.

    3.6K installs
  • understand-onboard

    Use when you need to generate an onboarding guide for new team members joining a project

    3.9K installs

Questions

How do I install Understand Anything in Claude Code?

Use the install box above: add the author's marketplace, then install the plugin. Then run /understand in your project to build the graph and /understand-dashboard to open it. The first run needs Node.js 22+ and pnpm 10+.

How many tokens does it use?

It depends on project size. Better Stack reports about 30 minutes and around 200,000 tokens for Google's Online Boutique demo, and one user on a large repo ran out of a 5-hour Claude limit before the second stage. Later runs only redo changed files.

How do I cut the cost of the first run?

Point it at one folder, such as /understand src/frontend, and skip files with --exclude or a .understandignore file. A local model also works. One user in issue #212 had Claude run the sub-tasks on Sonnet and keep only the final step on Opus.

What is the dashboard access token?

The dashboard runs only on your machine and prints an address that ends in a ?token= value. You need that token to see the graph, so open the exact address it prints and do not share it.

Is Understand Anything safe?

It is MIT licensed and its SECURITY.md says it runs locally and does not phone home. Your code is still read by your assistant's model, two hooks run in Claude Code, and the first run installs packages. No security advisories are published for the repo.

Does it send my code anywhere?

Not to the author. Your files go to whichever model your assistant uses, so use a local model for private code. Only the Figma skill calls another service (Figma), and the dashboard may download a viewer from GitHub.

Does it work in Codex, Cursor or Gemini CLI?

Yes, according to the README. Codex, Gemini CLI, OpenCode and Cline install with the one-line script, Cursor and VS Code with Copilot find it in a cloned repo, and Copilot CLI has its own install command. In Codex you type $understand instead of /understand. It is not documented for the Claude app.

What happened to Lum1104/Understand-Anything?

The repo moved to egonex-ai/understand-anything, and the old address redirects there. Older posts, videos and issues still link to the Lum1104 name. It is the same project.

Where is the graph stored, and can I share it?

In .ua/knowledge-graph.json inside your project (older projects use .understand-anything/). It is plain JSON you can commit so teammates skip the build. Use git-lfs if it passes 10 MB.

Understand Anything vs graphify?

Both turn a codebase into a knowledge graph from a slash command. Understand Anything centres on a visual dashboard, guided tours and onboarding guides. graphify centres on a queryable graph that also takes docs, SQL schemas and PDFs. Try the smaller one on your own repo to compare the token cost.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Runs in
Claude Code
Repository
egonex-ai/understand-anything

egonex-ai/understand-anything

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.

Show all 30
  1. Plugin marketplace · github.com
  2. Understand-Anything README · github.com
  3. Copilot CLI plugin · github.com
  4. Cursor plugin · github.com
  5. Dashboard viewer only · github.com
  6. GitHub Copilot plugin · github.com
  7. Understand Anything: AI-Generated Knowledge Graphs for Large Codebases · betterstack.com
  8. claude-plugins-official marketplace.json · github.com
  9. plugin.json · github.com
  10. understand SKILL.md · github.com
  11. Plugin folder · github.com
  12. understand-dashboard SKILL.md · github.com
  13. understand-figma SKILL.md · github.com
  14. Plugin hooks.json · github.com
  15. Plugin agents folder · github.com
  16. post-tool-use-auto-update.mjs · github.com
  17. Understand-Anything SECURITY.md · github.com
  18. install.sh · github.com
  19. How to make /understand run faster? · github.com
  20. token consumption problem · github.com
  21. Egonex-AI/Understand-Anything on GitHub · github.com
  22. graphify on GitHub · github.com
  23. token consumption problem (comment) · github.com
  24. Understand Anything (Hacker News) · news.ycombinator.com
  25. agents ignore hooks instructions · github.com
  26. Dashboard fast path 404s for every plugin version after 2.9.0 · github.com
  27. Windows incompatibility · github.com
  28. [Windows] Codex fails to locate agents unless full path is specified · github.com
  29. VSCode: Copilot plugin not detected · github.com
  30. OpenCode issues with subagent-based analysis phase · github.com

Updated Nov 2, 2026.