Docs Lookup

Docs Lookup

Use this skill when correctness depends on current documentation or routed operational context rather than training memory. This is especially important for APIs, SDKs, CLIs, frameworks, cloud services, deployment platforms, package managers, access paths, and version-specific behavior.

Trigger Examples

Use this skill for:

• "how do I use <library/API/framework>"
• latest/current/default behavior, model, parameter, config, or migration docs
• SDK method names, request/response shapes, auth setup, webhooks, billing, deployment, package publishing, or CI configuration
• bug fixes where a library, provider, or CLI may have changed behavior
• tasks that involve fast-moving ecosystems where the agent's internal training data may be stale or imprecise.
• tasks that mention Odoo, JetBrains APIs, Next.js, React, Prisma, Mantine, Docker, GitHub Actions, uv, PyPI, Dokploy, Launchplane, Stripe, Shopify, RepairShopr, Fishbowl, or similar tools.
• tasks that ask where to make private DNS or Cloudflare changes, such as verification records, zone ownership, token location, or provider access paths.
• tasks that need a credential, API token, or secret: where it is stored, which repo owns it, how to validate it, or how to rotate it.
• tasks where the answer depends on environment-specific operational context or discovering source-of-truth docs or access paths for private operations.

Do not use this skill for stable local repo facts that can be answered directly from checked-in code or docs.

Do not use this skill to perform infrastructure actions, API mutations, operator workflows, rollback/snapshot decisions, or production-impacting changes. Use the owning operator skill such as infra-ops or launchplane after docs and authority are discovered.

Source Order

Prefer sources in this order:

1. Configured local operational context when the task depends on this specific private environment's setup, access path, or source of truth.
2. Local repo docs and source for project-specific behavior.
3. Official product or project docs.
4. Official API references, release notes, migration guides, changelogs, and source repositories.
5. Package registry pages only for package metadata or version facts.
6. Trusted community sources only when official docs are missing, clearly incomplete, or the user explicitly wants ecosystem practice.

For OpenAI products and APIs, use openai-docs; it supersedes this general docs workflow for OpenAI-specific questions.

For provider or infrastructure tasks, route by source of truth rather than provider name. Use official docs for generic behavior, local context routing for this environment's setup or access path, and the owning operator skill for read-only inventory, managed product/runtime state, production checks, or mutations.

This skill may identify the source-of-truth route and relevant docs. Once the request needs live tenant/account identity, current record or runtime inventory, health evidence, production status, or any mutation, switch to the owning operator skill such as infra-ops or launchplane.

Local Operational Context

Use local operational context when the task is about how this particular environment is configured, reached, mutated, verified, or owned. Do not infer that a product repo, cloud provider, dashboard, deployment platform, or browser session is the source of truth until the configured local context route has been checked or ruled out.

For private DNS or Cloudflare requests, such as adding a verification CNAME or TXT record or finding where provider access is configured, use this skill only to find the configured local infrastructure source of truth. Then hand live record inspection or mutation to infra-ops. Do not search product repo .env files, shell history, or common token locations as a first move.

Keep the skill guidance conceptual. Do not add local service names, hostnames, tokens, account details, topology, or private repo inventories to public skills. Those facts belong in the configured local information source.

If a session discovers that local operational context is missing, stale, misleading, or newly changed, do not leave that discovery only in chat. Route a durable capture back to the configured local information source. Start read-only unless the user has approved mutation; if updating that source is not approved, record the need as a private-safe follow-up without copying private facts into public issues, PRs, docs, or summaries.

Workflow

1. Identify the exact technology, version, language, and task. If the version is missing and matters, inspect local manifests first (package.json, pyproject.toml, uv.lock, Cargo.toml, go.mod, Dockerfiles, CI files).
2. If the task depends on private/local operational state, read the configured local context route before following provider-specific or product-repo clues. If the task asks you to inspect, operate, validate, or mutate infrastructure, switch to the owning operator skill after identifying the docs/access path.
3. Search current docs. Use primary sources; when searching the web, use precise queries and official-domain filters where possible.
4. Fetch the specific page or section needed. Avoid broad summaries when a reference page, migration note, or release note answers the question.
5. Compare docs against local code before editing. If docs and repo behavior disagree, call out the mismatch and avoid broad changes until the intended contract is clear.
6. Answer or implement narrowly using the sourced behavior.
7. Cite the sources used in the response when the user asked for an answer, when the fact is unstable, or when source attribution will help future work.

Optional Docs CLIs

If a documentation CLI is available and fits the task, it may be used as a source-finding helper, but do not make it the only path.

• Context7/ctx7: useful for library and framework docs.
• chub/Context Hub: useful for third-party API and SDK docs.
• Vendor MCP docs tools: use them when they are installed and official.

Do not install a global docs CLI just to answer a small question unless the user asked for it or the task will clearly benefit. If a docs CLI query could include private code, credentials, customer data, or proprietary architecture, rewrite the query to remove sensitive details.

Repo Routing

If the current repo has .github/github.json with a docs block, use those repo-relative paths as the primary local routing targets before falling back to repo-root search. Prefer docs.index as the entry point, then relevant semantic paths such as docs.architecture, docs.operations, docs.style, or docs.policies.

Always check the repository's AGENTS.md before using external docs for local-specific architecture or operational questions. Treat README files as human-facing by default, but keep them as a normal local fallback when repo metadata and AGENTS.md do not cover the needed operational or architecture context. When README carries agent-operational guidance that is not captured in AGENTS.md or repo metadata, note that as a repo-docs follow-up instead of ignoring it.

For technology-specific routing, including optional local infrastructure docs, see references/routing.md.

Quality Rules

• Do not invent API parameters, model names, config keys, pricing, limits, availability, or migration requirements.
• Preserve explicit user targets. If the user asks for a specific version, answer for that version and mention newer guidance separately only when useful.
• Prefer short quotes and paraphrase. Keep citations close to the claims they support.
• If sources disagree, cite both and explain the difference.
• If docs are unavailable or inconclusive, say so and give the safest next verification step.
• Keep sourced changes narrow; do not turn docs lookup into an unrelated dependency upgrade or migration.