Can I preview the changes before they are applied?

Yes, you can use the --dry-run flag to view the generated CODEOWNERS content in your terminal without modifying any files.

Is it possible to customize the output location?

Yes, while it defaults to .github/CODEOWNERS, you can specify a custom path using the --output argument.

How does gen-codeowners determine who owns a module?

The skill analyzes the git shortlog for each detected module directory, ranking contributors by commit count to identify the most active maintainers.

What signals does it use to detect project modules?

It scans the repository for directory markers such as CLAUDE.md files, package.json files, or dedicated docs/ folders to identify logical boundaries.

Will this tool overwrite my manual CODEOWNERS entries?

No, the skill is designed to parse your existing file and preserve any lines containing a '# manual' comment, ensuring custom rules stay intact.

Code Ownership Generator

Name: Code Ownership Generator
Author: alexnodeland

byalexnodeland

•

Collaboration Tools

Automates the generation and maintenance of GitHub CODEOWNERS files by analyzing repository structure and git contribution history.

The gen-codeowners skill streamlines repository governance by mapping module boundaries directly to code ownership rules. It intelligently identifies project modules, analyzes git shortlogs to rank primary contributors, and generates a structured .github/CODEOWNERS file based on actual development activity. This tool is essential for teams managing monorepos or scaling projects, ensuring that pull requests are automatically routed to the correct reviewers while preserving existing manual overrides and documentation-specific rules.

Key Features

01Automated module detection based on project signals

023 GitHub stars

03Dry-run capability for safe previewing of file changes

04Git history analysis to identify primary maintainers

05Smart merging of existing manual ownership overrides

06Support for documentation-specific ownership patterns

Use Cases

01Updating reviewer assignments after a major team reorganization

02Maintaining monorepo review logic based on evolving module structures

03Initializing granular code ownership for a legacy codebase

What are Skills?·How to Install

Install with 🐟 Skill.Fish

npx skillfish add alexnodeland/principled gen-codeowners

For use in Claude.ai and ChatGPT

Download Skill