# Repo Docs

> Bootstrap or extend a repo's documentation for coding agents. Creates AGENTS.md + docs/ structure (architecture, guidelines, product-specs with stable IDs and invariants). Use when the user asks to "document the project for coding agents", "set up agent docs", "add AGENTS.md", "create docs/ structure".

- Skill: `korya/repo-docs` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 10 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add korya/repo-docs`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/korya/repo-docs/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: AI & ML
- Author: korya (https://skillmd.com/u/korya)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/korya/repo-docs

---


# Repo docs for coding agents

This skill bootstraps a documentation layout designed for LLM-assisted development: every project area has a stable, addressable home, every product behavior has a unique ID, and every change has a clear consultation path.

## Required references

This file is the skeleton; each reference holds a step's full rules. Read it **at that step**.

| File | Read at | Holds |
|---|---|---|
| `references/spec-format.md` | before writing any spec or invariant | the non-negotiable format rules, ID stability, anti-patterns |
| `references/checklist.md` | step 3, before creating files | required content per file, size budgets |
| `templates/` | step 4 | ready-to-fill skeletons that embed the format rules |

## When to invoke

- "Document the project for coding agents" / "set up agent docs"
- "Add AGENTS.md" / "create docs/ structure"
- Extending the *layout* in a repo that already follows it — individual specs are `/spec`'s job

Do **not** invoke for one-off README edits or for repos that already have a different doc convention without confirming with the user.

## Layout produced

```
<repo-root>/
├── AGENTS.md
└── docs/
    ├── README.md
    ├── architecture.md
    ├── guidelines.md
    └── product-specs/
        ├── README.md
        ├── invariants.md
        └── <feature>.md   (one per feature area)
```

## Document responsibilities

| File | Purpose | Do not put here |
|------|---------|-----------------|
| `AGENTS.md` | Project elevator pitch + tech stack + brief architecture + index of every doc with load hints | Long architectural rationale, full specs |
| `docs/README.md` | How to manage `docs/` itself: spec format rules, ID conventions, when to update what, file naming | Project content |
| `docs/architecture.md` | High-level architecture, layer boundaries, important technical assumptions, migration paths | Implementation tutorials |
| `docs/guidelines.md` | Process rules: lint/test policy, planning, regression CRA (5-whys), doc-update protocol | Product behavior |
| `docs/product-specs/README.md` | Spec format requirements (testability, ID rules) + index of feature spec files | Feature behavior |
| `docs/product-specs/invariants.md` | Cross-cutting conditions that hold across the system. Prefix `INV`. Don't have to be testable in isolation. | Feature behavior, feature-local invariants |
| `docs/product-specs/<feature>.md` | Testable behaviors for one feature area. Each has a unique `PREFIX-NNN` ID; feature-local invariants live here as prose contracts. | Implementation details |

## Spec format — the three rules

Each feature spec is **behavioral** (what the system does, never how), **self-evidently testable** (precise enough to derive a test from the body — no separate `**Testable:**` line; rewrite the body instead), and **identified** (`### PREFIX-NNN: Short title` — zero-padded three-digit numbers, prefix shared per file, never reused or renumbered). Cross-cutting invariants get `INV-NNN` in `invariants.md` and need not be testable in isolation; feature-local ones stay in the feature file as prose contracts, no numeric ID. **Read `references/spec-format.md`** for the full rules and anti-patterns before writing any spec.

## Workflow when invoked

### 1. Survey the repo first

Before writing anything:
- Read existing `README.md`, `package.json`, source layout, any existing `SPEC.md` or design docs
- Identify the **product domain** (what does this thing do?), **tech stack** (languages, frameworks, package manager, runtime), and **architectural layers** (frontend/backend split, storage, integrations)
- Identify discrete **feature areas** that warrant their own spec file

If the repo already has agent docs in this pattern, skip bootstrapping and only add/edit the requested files.

### 2. Confirm scope with the user

Before creating files, propose:
- The list of feature spec files you'll create (e.g., `companies.md`, `deals.md`, `tasks.md`)
- Their prefixes (e.g., `CMP`, `DEAL`, `TASK`)
- Any unusual choices (combining features, splitting a large feature)

Ask before creating. The user's preferred granularity matters more than your guess.

### 3. Create files in this order

**Read `references/checklist.md` now** — the required content per file and the size budgets.

1. `docs/product-specs/invariants.md` — the floor; everything else references it
2. `docs/product-specs/<feature>.md` files — one per feature area
3. `docs/product-specs/README.md` — index + format rules
4. `docs/architecture.md` — layers, decisions, assumptions
5. `docs/guidelines.md` — process rules
6. `docs/README.md` — meta-doc on managing `docs/`
7. `AGENTS.md` — top-level overview + index of everything

### 4. Use the templates

See `templates/` in this skill directory for ready-to-fill skeletons. They embed all the format requirements.

### 5. Cross-link

- `AGENTS.md` indexes every other doc with a one-line summary and a "load when…" hint
- `docs/product-specs/README.md` indexes every spec file with prefix + summary
- Specs reference invariants by ID where relevant (e.g., "see INV-003")

## Definition of done

The skill is complete when **all** of these are true. Each item is answerable with evidence — a file path, a grep result, a user confirmation — not a vibe.

- [ ] Scope confirmed with the user *before* file creation: list of feature spec files, their prefixes, any unusual splits/combines.
- [ ] Every file in `references/checklist.md` exists and ticks every box in its own checklist. Missing items get a TODO with a reason, not silent omission.
- [ ] No spec describes implementation. Re-read each spec body: if it names a function, class, schema, or file, rewrite it behaviorally.
- [ ] No spec carries a separate `**Testable:**` line. If the body isn't self-evidently testable, the body is rewritten — not annotated.
- [ ] Every spec ID is unique within its file. Deletions leave holes; no renumbering.
- [ ] Every cross-cutting invariant has an `INV-NNN` ID in `invariants.md`; feature-local invariants stay in their feature file as prose contracts.
- [ ] Cross-links resolve: `AGENTS.md` indexes every file under `docs/`; `docs/product-specs/README.md` indexes every feature spec; every `see INV-NNN` / `see XXX-NNN` reference points to something that exists.
- [ ] Sizes within budget: `AGENTS.md` ~150 lines, each feature spec 5–15 items at 1–3 sentences, architecture 1–3 pages. Over-budget files are split or trimmed.
- [ ] If the repo already had docs in this pattern, only the requested files were touched — no silent rewrites of existing structure.
- [ ] User has been shown the final layout and asked to confirm before the skill closes.

If a checkbox cannot be ticked honestly, the skill is not done — return to the step that produces it.