# Dev Docs Suite

> Dev Docs Suite

- Skill: `nothingtosurprise/dev-docs-suite` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 4 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add nothingtosurprise/dev-docs-suite`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/nothingtosurprise/dev-docs-suite/raw
- Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: nothingtosurprise (https://skillmd.com/u/nothingtosurprise)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/nothingtosurprise/dev-docs-suite

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# Dev Docs Suite

A skill for generating the four most time-consuming developer documents — fast, from minimal input, with consistent structure every time.

## Supported Document Types

| What user says | Document type | Reference file |
|---|---|---|
| "write a post-mortem", "incident report", "outage report" | Post-Mortem | `references/post-mortem.md` |
| "create an ADR", "document this decision", "architecture decision" | ADR | `references/adr.md` |
| "document this API", "API contract", "endpoint docs", "OpenAPI" | API Contract Doc | `references/api-contract.md` |
| "onboarding docs", "readme for new devs", "how this codebase works" | Onboarding Doc | `references/onboarding.md` |

## How to Use This Skill

### Step 1 — Identify the document type
From the user's message, determine which of the four document types they need. If ambiguous, ask one clarifying question.

### Step 2 — Read the reference file
Before generating anything, read the relevant reference file from `references/`. It contains the template, required fields, and quality checklist for that document type.

### Step 3 — Gather missing info (minimal questions)
The goal is to ask as few questions as possible. Extract what you can from context. Only ask for what's truly missing — never ask more than 3-4 questions at once.

### Step 4 — Generate the document
Produce the complete document using the template from the reference file. Output it as a well-formatted Markdown document ready to copy-paste or save.

### Step 5 — Offer follow-ups
After generating, offer:
- Export as `.md` file
- Adjust tone (formal vs. casual)
- Fill in any placeholder sections the user skipped

## General Quality Rules (apply to all doc types)

- **Specific over vague**: "Database connection pool exhausted at 847 connections" not "database issues"
- **Action-oriented**: Every section should help the reader do something or understand something
- **Honest**: Post-mortems especially — no blame, but no hiding what happened either
- **Scannable**: Use headers, bullet points, and tables where they add clarity
- **Complete**: Never leave a required section empty — if info is unknown, say "TBD — owner: [name]"

## Triggering by example

If the user says any of these, activate immediately without asking for permission:
- "We had an outage last night, help me write it up"
- "I need to document why we chose PostgreSQL over MongoDB"
- "Write docs for our `/users` endpoint"
- "New engineer joining next week, help me write something to get them up to speed"

