ripwire-orient

# Orient with ripwire > Routing — pick the right door: > • Tracing one call graph / locating a literal → **ripwire-navigate**. > • Vetting your OWN diff before you push → **ripwire-change-check**. > • Risk in code you did NOT write / an unfamiliar subsystem → **ripwire-fresh-eyes**. > • Map-before-you-read token discipline (any info need, mid-task) → this skill's companion **[`map-before-you-read.md`](map-before-you-read.md)** (folded in from the former `efficient` skill, 2026-09-07). > • Deep architecture-health read (deps metrics, layering rules, --arch gate) → **ripwire-layers**. > • Not sure which skill? → **ripwire-router**. `ripwire` is on your PATH. First call on a tree parses (~1s even at 1500 files); every call after is warm (auto-cached, ~instant), so chaining several rungs is nearly free. `<dir>` = the repo root or the specific subsystem you're working in — also accepts a remote `ripwire <git-url>` (shallow-clones to a temp cache, so you can orient in a dependency before ever cloning it) — or several roots for a split checkout, `ripwire dir1 dir2 --report`: ONE merged, root-labeled map instead of two separate mental models. ## The escalation ladder — climb only until you feel oriented **0. Recall what you already KNOW** — `ripwire <dir> --recall="<the task>"` The most relevant DOCS' FULL bodies (docs only, so code never swamps them — markdown memory notes, planning/design docs, skills, READMEs, plus `.ipynb`/`.html`/`.csv`/Office/PDF via the optional markitdown...