Ark Analysis

This skill helps you analyze the Ark codebase by cloning the repository and examining its contents.

When to use this skill

Use this skill when:

• User asks "how does X work in Ark?"
• User wants to understand Ark's architecture or implementation
• User needs to examine Ark source code, CRDs, or controllers
• User mentions analyzing the Ark repository

Quick start

Clone the Ark repository to a temporary location:

git clone git@github.com:mckinsey/agents-at-scale-ark.git /tmp/ark-analysis
cd /tmp/ark-analysis

Codebase structure

The Ark repository is organized as follows:

• ark/ - Kubernetes operator and default executor (Go)

  • Controller dispatches queries to executors via A2A protocol
  • CRDs: Agent, Model, Query, Team, MCPServer, ExecutionEngine, A2AServer
  • executors/completions/ - Built-in default execution engine

• lib/ark-sdk/ - Python SDK (generated + overlay)

  • BaseExecutor ABC and ExecutorApp for pluggable executor interface

• services/ - Component services

  • ark-api/ - REST API gateway (Python/FastAPI)
  • ark-broker/ - In-memory event bus (Node.js/Express)
  • ark-dashboard/ - Web UI (Next.js/React)

• samples/ - Example YAML configurations

• docs/ - Documentation site (Next.js/MDX)

Common analysis tasks

Find controllers

ls ark/internal/controller/
grep -r "Reconcile" ark/internal/controller/

Find CRDs

ls ark/config/crd/bases/
grep -r "kind: Agent" samples/

Find A2A implementations

find . -path "*/a2a*" -type f
grep -r "A2AServer" .

Search for specific features

# Use ripgrep or grep to search
rg "query controller" --type go
grep -r "team coordination" --include="*.go"

Best practices

1. Clone to /tmp: Always clone to /tmp/ark-analysis to avoid cluttering the workspace
2. Navigate first: cd /tmp/ark-analysis before running analysis commands
3. Use search tools: Prefer rg (ripgrep) or grep for code searches
4. Check CLAUDE.md: Look for project-specific guidance in CLAUDE.md files
5. Clean up: Optionally remove the temp directory when done: rm -rf /tmp/ark-analysis

Example workflows

Analyzing a controller

git clone git@github.com:mckinsey/agents-at-scale-ark.git /tmp/ark-analysis
cd /tmp/ark-analysis
cat ark/internal/controller/query_controller.go
grep -r "ExecuteQuery" ark/internal/genai/

Understanding A2A integration

cd /tmp/ark-analysis
find samples/a2a -name "*.py"
cat samples/a2a/simple-agent/src/simple_a2a_server/main.py
cat docs/content/developer-guide/building-a2a-servers.mdx

Finding CRD specifications

cd /tmp/ark-analysis
ls ark/api/v1alpha1/
cat ark/api/v1alpha1/agent_types.go