I like AI explanations, but I keep running into the same problem.
The answer is often correct.
It is just not the answer I need first.
If I ask about a topic I barely understand, I may get a long explanation full of correct terminology before I have any mental model of how the pieces fit together.
That is why the eli5 skill for Claude caught my attention.
The command
Use:
/eli5 <topic>
For example:
/eli5 how does DNS work
Claude creates an HTML artifact with big pictures and very few words.
The skill is here:
anthropics/claude-plugins-community/eli5
The whole skill is only 10 lines
The actual SKILL.md is 10 lines long.
There is no complicated tutoring framework, MCP server, external search pipeline, or giant prompt.
The value is mostly in the output constraint.
Why the constraint works
When I learn something new, I usually need a mental model before vocabulary.
Take DNS.
A full explanation may immediately introduce recursive resolvers, authoritative nameservers, root servers, TLD servers, caching, TTLs, and DNSSEC.
All of those terms matter.
But if I do not yet understand the basic flow, the terminology becomes noise.
A visual first pass can instead show:
browser
-> asks resolver
-> resolver finds answer
-> browser gets IP
Once that relationship is clear, I have somewhere to attach the terminology. ðŸ§
"ELI5" should not mean inaccurate
The name stands for "Explain Like I'm Five."
I think the best interpretation is not literally "use the vocabulary of a five-year-old."
The better rule is:
assume zero background, not zero intelligence.
A technical explanation can remain accurate while removing hidden prerequisites.
This works for more than coding
Developer examples:
/eli5 virtual memory
/eli5 event loop
/eli5 TLS handshake
/eli5 Git rebase
/eli5 Kubernetes networking
Other subjects:
/eli5 Bayes theorem
/eli5 inflation
/eli5 existentialism
/eli5 quantum entanglement
The only real requirement is that the subject benefits from a visual mental model.
Codebases are an especially good use case
Instead of asking:
Explain this repository.
I want something closer to:
/eli5 how does this codebase work
The useful output is not a giant inventory of folders.
It is a picture of where requests enter, which modules matter, where state lives, and how data flows.
Then I can inspect the code with a structure already in my head.
This is a first-pass tool
I would not stop at an ELI5 explanation when details matter.
For security-sensitive code, math, production architecture, or anything I need to implement precisely, I still want documentation, source code, proofs, benchmarks, and primary sources.
ELI5 is the orientation layer.
It gets me from:
I do not know what any of this means.
to:
I understand the basic structure. Now I know what to ask next.
Anthropic's Thariq Shihipar shared the skill publicly and said people at Anthropic had been using it a lot recently.
The entire trick fits into a tiny skill file.
The improvement in learning experience can be much larger.
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