oliver-kriska/phx-document

Document

Generate documentation for newly implemented features.

Usage

$phx-document .claude/plans/magic-link-auth/plan.md
$phx-document magic link authentication
$phx-document  # Auto-detect from recent plan

Iron Laws

1. Never remove existing documentation — Existing docs may reflect design intent that isn't obvious from code alone; update rather than replace
2. @moduledoc on every public module — Undocumented modules accumulate quickly and create onboarding friction for new team members
3. ADRs capture the "why", not the "what" — Code shows what was built; ADRs explain why this approach was chosen over alternatives
4. Match @doc to function's public API — Document parameters, return values, and edge cases; callers shouldn't need to read the implementation
5. DO NOT add @doc to untested code — documentation implies a stable contract; document only after tests confirm the function behaves as described

What Gets Documented

| Output | Description | |--------|-------------| | @moduledoc | For new modules missing documentation | | @doc | For public functions without docs | | README section | For user-facing features | | ADR | For significant architectural decisions |

Workflow

Step 0: Pre-check (avoid no-op runs)

Run git diff --name-only HEAD~5 | grep '\.ex$' | head -20 to check for new .ex files.

If NO new .ex files were added (only modifications), skip the full audit and report: "No new modules — documentation coverage unchanged." This prevents 35-message analysis sessions that conclude "PASS" with zero output (confirmed: session bb0a0454 wasted ~2K tokens on no-op).

1. Identify new modules from recent commits or plan file
2. Check documentation coverage (@moduledoc, @doc)
3. Generate missing docs using templates
4. Add README section if user-facing feature
5. Create ADR if architectural decision was made
6. Write report to .claude/plans/{slug}/reviews/{feature}-docs.md

When to Generate ADRs

| Trigger | Create ADR | |---------|-----------| | New external dependency | Yes | | New database table | Maybe (if schema non-obvious) | | New OTP process | Yes (explain why process needed) | | New context | Maybe (if boundaries non-obvious) | | New auth mechanism | Yes | | Performance optimization | Yes |

Integration with Workflow

$phx-plan → $phx-work → $phx-review
       ↓
$phx-document  ← YOU ARE HERE (optional, suggested after review passes)

References

• references/doc-templates.md — @moduledoc, @doc, README, ADR templates
• references/output-format.md — Documentation report format
• references/doc-best-practices.md — Elixir documentation best practices
• references/documentation-patterns.md — Detailed documentation patterns