mgiovani/docs-init

Docs Init

Cross-Platform AI Agent Skill This skill works with any AI agent platform that supports the skills.sh standard.

Initialize Project Documentation

Generate comprehensive documentation structure for a project based on detected technologies and configuration.

Anti-Hallucination Guidelines

CRITICAL: Before documenting ANY feature, component, or capability:

1. Verify existence - Read the actual file/directory to confirm it exists
2. Count accurately - Use ls or find to get exact counts, do not estimate
3. Quote actual code - Reference real function names, not assumed ones
4. Check empty directories - A directory existing does not mean content exists
5. Never assume - If it cannot be verified, do not document it

Workflow

Phase 1: Deep Codebase Exploration (Explore Codebase)

Use the available exploration and search capabilities to thoroughly analyze the codebase before generating any documentation.

Phase 2: Verify Findings

After exploration, verify each finding by reading the actual files:

• Read package.json/pyproject.toml to confirm tech stack
• Read model files to confirm database entities exist
• Check directories are not empty before claiming components exist

Phase 3: Detect Project Characteristics

• Technology stack (language, frameworks, databases)
• Project type (web app, CLI, library, microservice, etc.)
• Infrastructure (Docker, K8s, cloud configs)
• Database/ORM presence (SQLAlchemy, Prisma, TypeORM, Django, etc.)

Phase 4: Determine Relevant Documentation

Core Documentation (always generate):

• docs/architecture.md - System architecture overview
• docs/onboarding.md - Developer onboarding guide
• docs/adr/0001-record-architecture-decisions.md - First ADR (meta-ADR)

Data Documentation (if database detected):

• docs/data-model.md - Database schema and ER diagrams

Infrastructure Documentation (if deployment configs found):

• docs/deployment.md - CI/CD and deployment procedures
• docs/security.md - Security architecture

Development Documentation (if collaborative project):

• docs/contributing.md - Contribution guidelines
• docs/rfc/ - RFC directory for proposals

Phase 5: Check for Existing Documentation

• Scan docs/ directory
• If files exist, ask user before overwriting
• Show what will be created vs what exists

Phase 6: Load and Populate Templates

Templates are in assets/templates/. Replace placeholders:

• {{PROJECT_NAME}} - From git repo name or directory name
• {{DATE}} - Current date (YYYY-MM-DD format)
• {{TECH_STACK}} - Detected technologies
• {{DESCRIPTION}} - Brief project description from README or git
• {{CONTEXT}} - Gathered context from codebase analysis

Phase 7: Verify Before Writing

Before writing each document, verify claims:

1. Re-read the source file to confirm the claim
2. If claiming "X components exist", verify the count with ls/find
3. If referencing a function/class, grep to confirm it exists
4. Remove any claims that cannot be verified

Phase 8: Generate Documentation

• Create docs/ directory if it does not exist
• Create subdirectories: docs/adr/, docs/rfc/ (if needed)
• Generate each relevant documentation file
• Populate with project-specific content

Phase 9: Report Results

• List all documentation files created
• Show what was skipped (already exists)
• Provide next steps

Context Detection Examples

# Check for language/framework
!`find . -name "package.json" -o -name "pyproject.toml" -o -name "go.mod" -o -name "Cargo.toml" | head -5`

# Check for database
!`find . -name "*models.py" -o -name "*schema.prisma" -o -name "*entity.ts" | head -5`

# Check for infrastructure
!`find . -name "Dockerfile" -o -name "docker-compose.yml" -o -name "*.k8s.yaml" | head -5`

# Get project name
!`basename $(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || pwd)`

# Get project description
!`head -20 README.md 2>/dev/null || echo ""`
## Template Locations

Templates are loaded from `assets/templates/`:

| Document Type | Template File |
|--------------|---------------|
| Architecture | `architecture.md` |
| Onboarding | `onboarding.md` |
| ADR (first) | `adr/nygard.md` |
| Data Model | `data-model.md` |
| Deployment | `deployment.md` |
| Security | `security.md` |
| Contributing | `contributing.md` |

## Usage Examples

Basic initialization (auto-detect everything):

docs-init With additional context:

docs-init for Python FastAPI microservice
docs-init for Next.js SaaS application
docs-init for React component library
## Important Notes

- **Zero-config**: Works without any configuration file
- **Smart detection**: Only generates relevant documentation
- **Safe**: Always asks before overwriting existing files
- **Customizable**: User context in command is used to enhance generation
- **Git-aware**: Uses git information when available
- **Incremental**: Can be run multiple times safely

## Example Output

Documentation Initialization Complete

Created: docs/architecture.md - System architecture overview docs/onboarding.md - Developer onboarding guide docs/adr/0001-record-architecture-decisions.md - Meta-ADR docs/data-model.md - Database schema (SQLAlchemy detected) docs/deployment.md - Deployment guide (Docker detected)

Skipped (already exists): docs/contributing.md

Next Steps:

1. Review and customize generated documentation
2. Run docs-diagram er to generate ER diagram
3. Run docs-diagram arch to generate architecture diagram
4. Create ADRs for key decisions: docs-adr "Decision Title"

When to Run

• Starting a new project
• Adding documentation to an existing project
• Reorganizing project documentation
• Onboarding new team members

Note: This skill can be run multiple times. It will only create missing files and ask before overwriting existing ones.

Claude Code Enhanced Features

This skill includes the following Claude Code-specific enhancements:

Workflow

Phase 1: Deep Codebase Exploration (Use Explore Agent)

Use the Task tool with subagent_type: "Explore" to thoroughly analyze the codebase before generating any documentation.

Use Task tool with Explore agent:
- prompt: "Analyze this codebase structure. Find: 1) All source directories with actual code files, 2) Package manager files (package.json, pyproject.toml, etc.), 3) Database/ORM files, 4) Infrastructure configs (Docker, K8s), 5) Existing documentation. Return ONLY verified findings with file paths."
- subagent_type: "Explore"

Phase 2: Verify Findings

After exploration, verify each finding by reading the actual files:

• Read package.json/pyproject.toml to confirm tech stack
• Read model files to confirm database entities exist
• Check directories are not empty before claiming components exist

Phase 3: Detect Project Characteristics

• Technology stack (language, frameworks, databases)
• Project type (web app, CLI, library, microservice, etc.)
• Infrastructure (Docker, K8s, cloud configs)
• Database/ORM presence (SQLAlchemy, Prisma, TypeORM, Django, etc.)

Phase 4: Determine Relevant Documentation

Core Documentation (always generate):

• docs/architecture.md - System architecture overview
• docs/onboarding.md - Developer onboarding guide
• docs/adr/0001-record-architecture-decisions.md - First ADR (meta-ADR)

Data Documentation (if database detected):

• docs/data-model.md - Database schema and ER diagrams

Infrastructure Documentation (if deployment configs found):

• docs/deployment.md - CI/CD and deployment procedures
• docs/security.md - Security architecture

Development Documentation (if collaborative project):

• docs/contributing.md - Contribution guidelines
• docs/rfc/ - RFC directory for proposals

Phase 5: Check for Existing Documentation

• Scan docs/ directory
• If files exist, ask user before overwriting
• Show what will be created vs what exists

Phase 6: Load and Populate Templates

Templates are in assets/templates/. Replace placeholders:

• {{PROJECT_NAME}} - From git repo name or directory name
• {{DATE}} - Current date (YYYY-MM-DD format)
• {{TECH_STACK}} - Detected technologies
• {{DESCRIPTION}} - Brief project description from README or git
• {{CONTEXT}} - Gathered context from codebase analysis

Phase 7: Verify Before Writing

Before writing each document, verify claims:

1. Re-read the source file to confirm the claim
2. If claiming "X components exist", verify the count with ls/find
3. If referencing a function/class, grep to confirm it exists
4. Remove any claims that cannot be verified

Phase 8: Generate Documentation

• Create docs/ directory if it does not exist
• Create subdirectories: docs/adr/, docs/rfc/ (if needed)
• Generate each relevant documentation file
• Populate with project-specific content

Phase 9: Report Results

• List all documentation files created
• Show what was skipped (already exists)
• Provide next steps