codebase-coffee vs flashcards

Spaced repetition is useful when the thing you need to remember can be stated cleanly and reviewed on a schedule. Commands, vocabulary, protocol details, and compact conceptual checks all fit the format.

A good flashcard system also gives you control over the deck. You can write the prompt, tune the answer, and keep reviewing difficult cards until recall improves.

Codebase literacy is not only a collection of isolated facts. It includes knowing where behavior lives, how modules connect, which convention wins when two patterns look plausible, and what can break when an invariant is missed.

Repositories also change. A hand-built card can stay technically true while pointing at an old abstraction. Keeping a large deck synchronized with the code becomes its own maintenance task.

On first use, codebase-coffee scans the current repository and creates a personal `.codebase-coffee.md` curriculum. A normal coffee serves one unvisited concept with a compact explanation, one or two file pointers, a gotcha, and an optional deeper walkthrough.

The file pointers matter because the brief leads you back to the code instead of asking you to recall an answer in isolation. The memory file records what has been served while the repository remains the source material.

Use flashcards when you want explicit spaced repetition for stable, portable facts. Use codebase-coffee when you want a small daily curriculum for navigating and owning the repository in front of you.

They can work together: coffee can reveal a concept worth revisiting, while a flashcard deck can preserve a narrow fact you need across projects. Read [how codebase-coffee works](/codebase-coffee/how-it-works) or inspect the skill on GitHub.