Codeview: Your Agent needs Code, not Docs

The idea behind Codeview clicked after watching Ben Davis's video How I'm Building Stuff in 2026. Ben was stuck on something the EffectTS docs didn't cover. The maintainers' advice? Clone the repo and let Claude Code search it.

It's a simple move, but it gives the agent what docs can't: the exact types, tests, examples, and conventions the library actually uses.

Why the repository helps

Docs are written to teach. They simplify and stick to the public path, which is great for learning but leaves out the details agents get stuck on.

With the repo available, the agent can find a working example, follow imports, read tests, and copy the library's real patterns instead of guessing whether an API exists.

You can do this manually today:

bash

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Effect-TS/effect resources/effect

Then tell the agent to read resources/effect before writing any Effect code.

What Codeview adds

Codeview turns that habit into a repeatable CLI workflow. It:

- Keeps a global list of reference repositories

- Places clean snapshots in your project's resources/ folder

- Adds a short section to AGENTS.md and CLAUDE.md explaining when to use each repo

- Keeps resources/ out of Git and can refresh snapshots later

It doesn't load the whole repo into context. The source is available locally, and the agent reads only what's relevant.

How to use it

bash

bun add --global @oddofrancesco/codeview

bash

codeview add https://github.com/Effect-TS/effect \
  --name effect \
  --desc "Official Effect source; use for current APIs, types, tests, and patterns"

Set it up in any project:

bash

codeview setup effect

Then prompt something like:

Before implementing this feature, inspect the relevant code and tests in resources/effect. Follow the repository's current patterns and treat it as reference-only.

Run codeview update for a fresh snapshot.

Don't clone everything

Use this for frameworks, SDKs, and libraries whose internals shape your architecture. A small utility package doesn't need its repo nearby. Docs are still great for learning concepts; the repository shows the agent how the code actually works.