Module 9: Working with Legacy Code
Module 9: Working with Existing Codebases
Querying codebases, building mental models, documentation archaeology
This module teaches you how to use AI agents to understand, document, and safely modify existing codebases. You'll learn techniques for exploring unfamiliar code, extracting undocumented knowledge, and applying incremental modernization strategies.
What you'll learn
Codebase Exploration
Query codebases effectively, build mental models through dialogue, and map architectures and dependencies
Documentation Archaeology
Reconstruct design decisions from code, find undocumented conventions, and handle outdated documentation
Safe Modifications
Apply minimal change principles, build characterization tests, and manage regression risk
Incremental Modernization
Plan AI-accelerated modernization, manage technical debt continuously, and generate documentation as you go