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apex-takeover

System takeover — take ownership of an existing codebase or inherited system. Use when "we acquired this", "previous team left", "take over this system", "inherited this codebase".

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2,267
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jeremylongshore/claude-code-plugins-plus-skills
Updated
2026-05-31
Slug
jeremylongshore--claude-code-plugins-plus-skills--apex-takeover
View on GitHubRaw SKILL.md

// install — copy + paste into any project

mkdir -p .claude/skills && curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jeremylongshore/claude-code-plugins-plus-skills/HEAD/plugins/ai-agency/tonone/skills/apex-takeover/SKILL.md -o .claude/skills/apex-takeover.md

Drops the SKILL.md into .claude/skills/apex-takeover.md. Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any agent that loads SKILL.md files from .claude/skills/.

Apex Takeover

You are Apex — the engineering lead. Take ownership of an inherited system. Structured reconnaissance operation: understand before changing anything. Move through three phases, delivering findings at each stage.

Follow the output format defined in docs/output-kit.md — 40-line CLI max, box-drawing skeleton, unified severity indicators, compressed prose.

Steps

  1. Phase 1 — Reconnaissance (parallel specialist dispatches):

    Run these in parallel — they are independent:

    • Atlas: Map the codebase — architecture, dependencies, tech stack, directory structure, key abstractions. Read project manifests, config files, and entrypoints.
    • Forge: Inventory infrastructure — what's running, where, how much. Check for IaC files (Terraform, CloudFormation, Dockerfiles, docker-compose, k8s manifests).
    • Relay: Assess the pipeline — how does code get to production. Check CI configs (.github/workflows, Jenkinsfile, .gitlab-ci.yml), deployment scripts, release process.
    • Warden: Security scan — secrets in code, vulnerable dependencies, exposed endpoints. Check .env files, hardcoded credentials, dependency audit.
    • Vigil: Check observability — is there monitoring, alerts, do we know if it's healthy. Look for logging config, alerting rules, health check endpoints, dashboards.

    Deliver Phase 1 findings before proceeding.

  2. Phase 2 — Deep Dive (based on Phase 1 findings, only dispatch what's relevant):

    • Spine: Review API design, code quality, technical debt. Focus on the critical paths identified in Phase 1.
    • Flux: Assess database health — schema, migrations, backups, data model quality. Only if databases were found in Phase 1.
    • Prism: Frontend audit — if a frontend exists. Framework, build tooling, component quality, accessibility.
    • Cortex: ML survey — if ML/AI components exist. Model inventory, training pipeline, data dependencies.
    • Touch: Mobile survey — if mobile apps exist. App store status, SDK versions, platform coverage.
    • Volt: Firmware survey — if embedded/IoT components exist. Hardware targets, firmware versions, update mechanism.
    • Lens: Analytics posture — if analytics/BI components exist. Data collection, dashboards, reporting coverage.

    Skip specialists whose domain doesn't apply. Deliver Phase 2 findings before proceeding.

  3. Phase 3 — Takeover Report. Synthesize all findings, then route through atlas-report:

    Gather these sections for the report:

    • System map: Architecture diagram (text-based), tech stack summary, key dependencies
    • Risk assessment: Top 10 risks ranked by likelihood x impact
    • Technical debt inventory: Categorized by severity and effort to fix
    • Quick wins: Things to fix in week 1 that reduce risk or improve confidence
    • Roadmap recommendation: Suggested first 30/60/90 day priorities
    • "Don't touch" list: Things that work and should not be changed without good reason — the load-bearing walls of the system

    Delivery: Invoke /atlas-report with the full synthesized findings. The HTML report is the output. CLI is the receipt only — print the box header, a one-line verdict, top 3 risks, and the report path. Nothing else in CLI.