Prelude
Codebase telemetry for technical analysis. Extracts structured ground truth from any repository: stack, architecture, dependencies, decisions, and changes. Machine-readable from the start.
# Extract ground truth
$ prelude init
# Emit structured telemetry
$ prelude export
# Feed to agents, graphs, or diligence
Ready for analysis.
The Sensor for Technical Assets
Before you can analyze a technical asset, you need to know what is actually in it. Prelude scans any repository or folder and emits structured telemetry: what technologies are present, how the codebase is organized, what constraints exist, what decisions were made, and what has changed.
This is the ground truth layer. Living feeds ingest it. Diligence processes rely on it. Attested lineage records it. Agents reason over it. Without structured input, analysis is guesswork.
What Prelude Extracts
Technology Stack
Language, runtime, frameworks, database, ORM. Auto-detected from package files and configuration.
Architecture
Project structure, component patterns, key directories, monorepo layout, and how the codebase is organized.
Dependencies
What the asset depends on. Direct and transitive. The supply chain that underpins the investment.
Decisions
Architecture Decision Records. Why the team chose one approach over another. The reasoning behind the code.
Constraints
Must-use technologies, patterns, and policies. The rules the team follows and why.
Changes
Timeline of modifications. What changed, when, and what the trajectory looks like over time.
Where Prelude Fits
Technical Diligence
What is actually in this codebase? Prelude answers that question with structured data, not opinions.
Portfolio Monitoring
Track what changed across portfolio company codebases. Structured telemetry that compounds inside living data feeds.
Honeymoon Pipeline
Prelude feeds structured context into Honeymoon. The analysis pipeline understands the asset before it begins.
Attested Lineage
Prelude output becomes part of the evidence record. What was in the codebase at the time of analysis, preserved and attestable.
Core Commands
prelude initScans the repository and creates a .context/ directory with structured telemetry: project metadata, stack, architecture, constraints, decisions, and changelog.
prelude exportEmits a structured document optimized for agent consumption. Feed directly to living data systems, Honeymoon, or any LLM.
prelude updateRe-scans and updates telemetry. Preserves manual annotations while refreshing auto-detected data.
prelude decisionRecords an architecture decision with rationale. Captures the reasoning behind technical choices for future analysis.
prelude watchMonitors file changes in real time. Tracks development activity for session continuity and change analysis.
Ground truth starts here.
Open source. MIT licensed. The sensor that turns codebases into analyzable intelligence.