Documentation

Documentation

This skill provides comprehensive documentation capabilities including API documentation, technical writing, changelog generation, and developer guides. It covers everything from OpenAPI specifications to user-facing changelogs.

When to Use This Skill

• When documenting REST APIs or GraphQL schemas
• When creating OpenAPI/Swagger specifications
• When generating client SDKs
• When writing API integration guides
• When creating interactive API documentation
• When maintaining API versioning and migration guides
• When writing user guides and tutorials
• When creating or improving README files
• When documenting architecture and design decisions
• When writing code comments and inline documentation
• When improving content clarity and accessibility
• When creating getting started documentation
• When writing feature specifications and design documents
• When creating Architecture Decision Records (ADRs)
• When documenting technical decisions and their rationale
• When creating migration guides for version upgrades
• When documenting breaking changes and upgrade paths
• When planning and documenting database migrations
• When preparing release notes for a new version
• When creating weekly or monthly product update summaries
• When documenting changes for customers
• When writing changelog entries for app store submissions
• When generating update notifications
• When creating internal release documentation
• When maintaining a public changelog/product updates page

What This Skill Does

1. OpenAPI Specs: Creates complete OpenAPI 3.0/Swagger specifications
2. SDK Generation: Generates client libraries and SDKs
3. Interactive Docs: Creates Postman collections and interactive docs
4. Versioning: Manages API versioning and migration guides
5. Code Examples: Provides examples in multiple languages
6. Developer Guides: Writes authentication and integration guides
7. User Guides: Creates step-by-step user guides with clear instructions
8. Tutorials: Writes progressive tutorials that build knowledge
9. README Files: Creates comprehensive README files with badges and sections
10. Architecture Docs: Documents system architecture and design decisions
11. Code Documentation: Writes clear code comments and inline docs
12. Content Organization: Structures content with clear headings and flow
13. Changelog Generation: Transforms git commits into user-friendly changelogs
14. Design Specs: Creates feature specifications and technical design documents
15. ADRs: Documents Architecture Decision Records with context and consequences
16. Migration Guides: Creates step-by-step migration documentation with rollback procedures

How to Use

Document API

Create OpenAPI specification for this API

Generate API documentation for the /api/users endpoints

Write Documentation

Create a user guide for this feature

Write a README for this project

Generate Changelog

Create a changelog from commits since last release

Generate changelog for all commits from the past week

API Documentation

Document as You Build

• Document APIs during development, not after
• Keep documentation in sync with code
• Use real examples over abstract descriptions
• Show both success and error cases
• Version everything including docs

OpenAPI Specification

Structure:

• API metadata (title, version, description)
• Server definitions
• Security schemes
• Paths and operations
• Request/response schemas
• Examples for all operations

Example:

openapi: 3.0.0
info:
  title: User API
  version: 1.0.0
  description: API for user management

paths:
  /users:
    get:
      summary: List users
      responses:
        '200':
          description: List of users
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: array
                items:
                  $ref: '#/components/schemas/User'

SDK Generation

Supported Languages:

• JavaScript/TypeScript
• Python
• Java
• Go
• Ruby
• PHP

Tools:

• OpenAPI Generator
• Swagger Codegen
• SDK generators

Code Examples

Provide examples in multiple languages:

• JavaScript/Node.js
• Python
• cURL
• Ruby
• Java

Technical Writing

Write for Your Audience

• Know their skill level
• Use appropriate terminology
• Provide context when needed
• Assume minimal prior knowledge
• Include troubleshooting sections

Lead with the Outcome

• Start with what users will accomplish
• Show the value before the steps
• Use clear, action-oriented language
• Focus on user success, not features

Use Active Voice

• Prefer active over passive voice
• Use clear, concise language
• Avoid jargon when possible
• Include real examples and scenarios
• Test instructions by following them exactly

Documentation Types

User Guides:

• Overview and goals
• Prerequisites
• Step-by-step instructions
• Screenshots or examples
• Troubleshooting
• Next steps

README Files:

• Project title and description
• Badges (build status, version, license)
• Features
• Installation
• Quick start
• Usage examples
• Contributing
• License

Architecture Docs:

• System overview
• Component diagrams
• Design decisions
• Technology choices
• Integration points
• Data flow

Changelog Generation

Transforming Git Commits

Automatically creates user-facing changelogs from git commits by:

• Analyzing commit history
• Categorizing changes (features, improvements, bug fixes, breaking changes, security)
• Transforming technical commits into clear, customer-friendly release notes
• Filtering out internal commits (refactoring, tests, etc.)

Basic Usage

Create a changelog from commits since last release

Generate changelog for all commits from the past week

Create release notes for version 2.5.0

With Specific Date Range

Create a changelog for all commits between March 1 and March 15

With Custom Guidelines

Create a changelog for commits since v2.4.0, using my changelog
guidelines from CHANGELOG_STYLE.md

Example Output

# Updates - Week of March 10, 2024

## ✨ New Features

- **Team Workspaces**: Create separate workspaces for different
  projects. Invite team members and keep everything organized.

- **Keyboard Shortcuts**: Press ? to see all available shortcuts.
  Navigate faster without touching your mouse.

## 🔧 Improvements

- **Faster Sync**: Files now sync 2x faster across devices
- **Better Search**: Search now includes file contents, not just titles

## 🐛 Fixes

- Fixed issue where large images wouldn't upload
- Resolved timezone confusion in scheduled posts
- Corrected notification badge count

Reference Files

For detailed documentation patterns and guidance, load reference files as needed:

• references/api_docs.md - API documentation patterns, OpenAPI specifications, SDK generation, versioning strategies, and code examples
• references/technical_writing.md - Technical writing best practices, user guide structure, README templates, architecture documentation, and content organization
• references/changelogs.md - Changelog generation patterns, commit categorization, user-friendly transformation, and release note best practices
• references/API_DOCUMENTATION.template.md - REST API documentation template with endpoints, authentication, webhooks, and SDK examples
• references/CHANGELOG.template.md - Changelog template following Keep a Changelog format with SemVer
• references/DESIGN_SPEC.template.md - Design specification template for feature planning, technical design, and implementation approach
• references/ARCHITECTURE_DECISION_RECORD.template.md - ADR template for documenting significant architectural decisions with context and consequences
• references/MIGRATION_GUIDE.template.md - Migration guide template for version upgrades, breaking changes, and upgrade paths

When working on specific documentation types, load the appropriate reference file.

Best Practices

Documentation Quality

1. Real Examples: Use actual working examples, not placeholders
2. Error Cases: Document error responses with examples
3. Authentication: Clear authentication setup instructions
4. Versioning: Document versioning strategy and migration paths
5. Testing: Test all examples to ensure they work

Developer Experience

• Quick Start: Provide 5-minute quick start guide
• Interactive: Use tools like Postman or Swagger UI
• Searchable: Make documentation searchable
• Up-to-Date: Keep documentation current with API changes
• Feedback: Include ways for developers to provide feedback

Writing Guidelines

1. Clarity: Use simple, clear language
2. Structure: Organize with clear headings
3. Examples: Include real, working examples
4. Testing: Test all instructions yourself
5. Feedback: Include ways for users to provide feedback

Content Organization

• Hierarchy: Use clear heading structure
• Navigation: Include table of contents for long docs
• Search: Make content searchable
• Cross-references: Link related sections
• Updates: Keep documentation current

Accessibility

• Plain Language: Avoid unnecessary jargon
• Structure: Use semantic HTML/Markdown
• Images: Include alt text for images
• Formatting: Use consistent formatting
• Examples: Provide multiple examples for different skill levels

Changelog Best Practices

• Run from git repository root
• Specify date ranges for focused changelogs
• Use CHANGELOG_STYLE.md for consistent formatting
• Review and adjust the generated changelog before publishing
• Save output directly to CHANGELOG.md

Related Use Cases

• API specification creation
• SDK generation
• Developer onboarding
• API integration guides
• Version migration documentation
• Interactive API exploration
• User documentation
• Developer guides
• Architecture documentation
• Tutorial creation
• Content improvement
• Creating GitHub release notes
• Writing app store update descriptions
• Generating email updates for users
• Creating social media announcement posts