Documentation Patterns

Documentation Patterns

Use this skill when the main problem is document shape and consistency rather than writing quality alone.

• Leverage native parallel subagent dispatch and 200k+ context windows where available.

Activation Conditions

Use symptom -> action triggers: when one matches, apply this skill and verify with the protocol below.

• Creating a new API, feature, or config guide
• Standardizing Markdown sections across repositories
• Writing migration or runbook documents
• Picking the right template for a doc request

Pattern Selection

• API docs: endpoints, auth, request and response schema, errors
• Feature docs: purpose, UX, dependencies, rollout, support
• Config docs: env vars, defaults, examples, failure modes
• Migration docs: changed behavior, upgrade path, verification

Cross-Skill Workflow

• Use documentation-authoring to gather context and draft the content before template selection becomes the bottleneck.
• Use this skill when structure, section order, or template choice is the main problem.
• Finish with documentation-quality to review the final document against quality expectations.

Agent Prompt Template

Use the documentation-patterns skill to choose and apply the best structure for a [document type].
Context: [feature, system, migration, or runbook].
Bias toward: [API docs, feature docs, config guide, migration guide, etc.].
Return the recommended section outline with short notes on why each section exists.

Shared Documentation Stack

Use this as the inherited baseline for documentation-authoring, documentation-quality, documentation-automation, and documentation-verification.

1. Source of truth: identify owner, audience, canonical files, and freshness requirements before drafting.
2. Structure: choose the smallest reusable pattern that fits the reader task.
3. Verification: check links, commands, examples, screenshots, and version-sensitive claims before publishing.
4. Handoff: state unresolved gaps, owners, and next review trigger instead of implying false completeness.

Cross-Client Portability

This skill is written to stay usable across GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, and Codex.

• GitHub Copilot: keep the folder in a Copilot-visible skill path or wrap the workflow in project instructions when folder discovery is unavailable.
• Claude Code: keep the folder in a local skills directory or a compatible plugin source.
• Codex: install or sync the folder into $CODEX_HOME/skills/documentation-patterns and restart Codex after major changes.

MCP Availability And Fallback

Preferred MCP Server: None required

• Fallback prompt: "Use the Documentation Patterns skill without MCP. Rely on its local instructions, bundled resources, standard shell or editor tools, and direct verification. Show the evidence used before concluding."
• Do not claim an MCP operation was used when the active host does not expose it.
• Treat local files, tests, rendered outputs, logs, or screenshots as the fallback evidence path.

Anti-Patterns

• Writing for the author instead of the reader: It bakes in unstated context and leaves the actual audience unsure what to do next.
• Skipping concrete examples or commands: Abstract guidance is easy to approve and hard to apply correctly.
• Letting links, screenshots, or versions drift: Polished formatting does not help if the instructions are no longer true.

Verification Protocol

Before claiming "skill applied successfully":

1. Pass/fail: The Documentation Patterns output identifies audience, purpose, source of truth, and freshness requirements.
2. Pass/fail: Shared documentation-stack guidance is referenced instead of duplicating another documentation skill.
3. Pass/fail: Claims, links, commands, examples, and screenshots are verified or explicitly marked unverified.
4. Pressure-test scenario: Apply the skill to a doc request with a stale command, missing owner, and conflicting audience.
5. Success metric: Zero undocumented assumptions; every reader-facing claim is sourced or scoped.

References & Resources

Documentation

• API Documentation Templates - Endpoint, SDK, and function documentation patterns
• Feature Documentation Templates - Feature overview, rollout, and troubleshooting patterns
• Configuration Documentation Templates - Config and environment variable templates

Scripts

• Doc Template Picker - Print a starter Markdown template for api, feature, config, or migration

Related Skills

• documentation-authoring: Use it when the workflow also needs drafting structured technical or product documents.
• documentation-quality: Use it when the workflow also needs documentation review standards and quality gates.
• documentation-verification: Use it when the workflow also needs final documentation validation before publishing.
• notion-docs: Use it when the workflow also needs Notion page and database publishing workflows.