Agent skill · software engineering · jeremylongshore
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".
Why this skill is useful
Adds a comprehensive set of executable scripts for system takeover, including reconnaissance and reporting workflows that aren't commonly documented.
What it needs
Requires bash installed locally. About 2k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-08-07. 2,604 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
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. …
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills jeremylongshore/apex-takeover