Compound Docs

compound-docs Skill

Purpose: Automatically document solved problems to build searchable institutional knowledge with category-based organization (enum-validated problem types).

Overview

This skill captures problem solutions immediately after confirmation, creating structured documentation that serves as a searchable knowledge base for future sessions.

Organization: Single-file architecture - each problem documented as one markdown file in its symptom category directory (e.g., docs/solutions/performance-issues/n-plus-one-briefs.md). Files use YAML frontmatter for metadata and searchability.

---

7-Step Process

Step 1: Detect Confirmation

Auto-invoke after phrases:

• "that worked"
• "it's fixed"
• "working now"
• "problem solved"
• "that did it"

OR manual: /doc-fix command

Non-trivial problems only:

• Multiple investigation attempts needed
• Tricky debugging that took time
• Non-obvious solution
• Future sessions would benefit

Skip documentation for:

• Simple typos
• Obvious syntax errors
• Trivial fixes immediately corrected

Step 2: Gather Context

Extract from conversation history:

Required information:

• Module name: Which module or component had the problem
• Symptom: Observable error/behavior (exact error messages)
• Investigation attempts: What didn't work and why
• Root cause: Technical explanation of actual problem
• Solution: What fixed it (code/config changes)
• Prevention: How to avoid in future

Environment details:

• Rails version
• Stage (0-6 or post-implementation)
• OS version
• File/line references

BLOCKING REQUIREMENT: If critical context is missing (module name, exact error, stage, or resolution steps), ask user and WAIT for response before proceeding to Step 3:

I need a few details to document this properly:

1. Which module had this issue? [ModuleName]
2. What was the exact error message or symptom?
3. What stage were you in? (0-6 or post-implementation)

[Continue after user provides details]

Step 3: Check Existing Docs

Search docs/solutions/ for similar issues:

# Search by error message keywords
grep -r "exact error phrase" docs/solutions/

# Search by symptom category
ls docs/solutions/[category]/

IF similar issue found:

THEN present decision options:

Found similar issue: docs/solutions/[path]

What's next?
1. Create new doc with cross-reference (recommended)
2. Update existing doc (only if same root cause)
3. Other

Choose (1-3): _

WAIT for user response, then execute chosen action.

ELSE (no similar issue found):

Proceed directly to Step 4 (no user interaction needed).

Step 4: Generate Filename

Format: [sanitized-symptom]-[module]-[YYYYMMDD].md

Sanitization rules:

• Lowercase
• Replace spaces with hyphens
• Remove special characters except hyphens
• Truncate to reasonable length (

Step 5: Validate YAML Schema

CRITICAL: All docs require validated YAML frontmatter with enum validation.

Validate against schema: Load schema.yaml and classify the problem against the enum values defined in [yaml-schema.md](./references/yaml-schema.md). Ensure all required fields are present and match allowed values exactly.

BLOCK if validation fails:

❌ YAML validation failed

Errors:
- problem_type: must be one of schema enums, got "compilation_error"
- severity: must be one of [critical, high, medium, low], got "invalid"
- symptoms: must be array with 1-5 items, got string

Please provide corrected values.

GATE ENFORCEMENT: Do NOT proceed to Step 6 (Create Documentation) until YAML frontmatter passes all validation rules defined in schema.yaml.

Step 6: Create Documentation

Determine category from problem_type: Use the category mapping defined in [yaml-schema.md](./references/yaml-schema.md) (lines 49-61).

Create documentation file:

PROBLEM_TYPE="[from validated YAML]"
CATEGORY="[mapped from problem_type]"
FILENAME="[generated-filename].md"
DOC_PATH="docs/solutions/${CATEGORY}/${FILENAME}"

# Create directory if needed
mkdir -p "docs/solutions/${CATEGORY}"

# Write documentation using template from assets/resolution-template.md
# (Content populated with Step 2 context and validated YAML frontmatter)

Result:

• Single file in category directory
• Enum validation ensures consistent categorization

Create documentation: Populate the structure from assets/resolution-template.md with context gathered in Step 2 and validated YAML frontmatter from Step 5.

Step 7: Cross-Reference & Critical Pattern Detection

If similar issues found in Step 3:

Update existing doc:

# Add Related Issues link to similar doc
echo "- See also: [$FILENAME]($REAL_FILE)" >> [similar-doc.md]

Update new doc: Already includes cross-reference from Step 6.

Update patterns if applicable:

If this represents a common pattern (3+ similar issues):

# Add to docs/solutions/patterns/common-solutions.md
cat >> docs/solutions/patterns/common-solutions.md 

---

## Decision Menu After Capture

After successful documentation, present options and WAIT for user response:

✓ Solution documented

File created:

• docs/solutions/[category]/[filename].md

What's next?

1. Continue workflow (recommended)
2. Add to Required Reading - Promote to critical patterns (critical-patterns.md)
3. Link related issues - Connect to similar problems
4. Add to existing skill - Add to a learning skill (e.g., hotwire-native)
5. Create new skill - Extract into new learning skill
6. View documentation - See what was captured
7. Other

**Handle responses:**

**Option 1: Continue workflow**

- Return to calling skill/workflow
- Documentation is complete

**Option 2: Add to Required Reading** ⭐ PRIMARY PATH FOR CRITICAL PATTERNS

User selects this when:
- System made this mistake multiple times across different modules
- Solution is non-obvious but must be followed every time
- Foundational requirement (Rails, Rails API, threading, etc.)

Action:
1. Extract pattern from the documentation
2. Format as ❌ WRONG vs ✅ CORRECT with code examples
3. Add to `docs/solutions/patterns/critical-patterns.md`
4. Add cross-reference back to this doc
5. Confirm: "✓ Added to Required Reading. All subagents will see this pattern before code generation."

**Option 3: Link related issues**

- Prompt: "Which doc to link? (provide filename or describe)"
- Search docs/solutions/ for the doc
- Add cross-reference to both docs
- Confirm: "✓ Cross-reference added"

**Option 4: Add to existing skill**

User selects this when the documented solution relates to an existing learning skill:

Action:
1. Prompt: "Which skill? (hotwire-native, etc.)"
2. Determine which reference file to update (resources.md, patterns.md, or examples.md)
3. Add link and brief description to appropriate section
4. Confirm: "✓ Added to [skill-name] skill in [file]"

Example: For Hotwire Native Tailwind variants solution:
- Add to `hotwire-native/references/resources.md` under "Project-Specific Resources"
- Add to `hotwire-native/references/examples.md` with link to solution doc

**Option 5: Create new skill**

User selects this when the solution represents the start of a new learning domain:

Action:
1. Prompt: "What should the new skill be called? (e.g., stripe-billing, email-processing)"
2. Run `python3 .claude/skills/skill-creator/scripts/init_skill.py [skill-name]`
3. Create initial reference files with this solution as first example
4. Confirm: "✓ Created new [skill-name] skill with this solution as first example"

**Option 6: View documentation**

- Display the created documentation
- Present decision menu again

**Option 7: Other**

- Ask what they'd like to do

---

## Integration Points

**Invoked by:**
- /compound command (primary interface)
- Manual invocation in conversation after solution confirmed
- Can be triggered by detecting confirmation phrases like "that worked", "it's fixed", etc.

**Invokes:**
- None (terminal skill - does not delegate to other skills)

**Handoff expectations:**
All context needed for documentation should be present in conversation history before invocation.

---

## Success Criteria

Documentation is successful when ALL of the following are true:

- ✅ YAML frontmatter validated (all required fields, correct formats)
- ✅ File created in docs/solutions/[category]/[filename].md
- ✅ Enum values match schema.yaml exactly
- ✅ Code examples included in solution section
- ✅ Cross-references added if related issues found
- ✅ User presented with decision menu and action confirmed

---

## Error Handling

**Missing context:**

- Ask user for missing details
- Don't proceed until critical info provided

**YAML validation failure:**

- Show specific errors
- Present retry with corrected values
- BLOCK until valid

**Similar issue ambiguity:**

- Present multiple matches
- Let user choose: new doc, update existing, or link as duplicate

**Module not in modules documentation:**

- Warn but don't block
- Proceed with documentation
- Suggest: "Add [Module] to modules documentation if not there"

---

## Execution Guidelines

**MUST do:**
- Validate YAML frontmatter (BLOCK if invalid per Step 5 validation gate)
- Extract exact error messages from conversation
- Include code examples in solution section
- Create directories before writing files (`mkdir -p`)
- Ask user and WAIT if critical context missing

**MUST NOT do:**
- Skip YAML validation (validation gate is blocking)
- Use vague descriptions (not searchable)
- Omit code examples or cross-references

---

## Quality Guidelines

**Good documentation has:**

- ✅ Exact error messages (copy-paste from output)
- ✅ Specific file:line references
- ✅ Observable symptoms (what you saw, not interpretations)
- ✅ Failed attempts documented (helps avoid wrong paths)
- ✅ Technical explanation (not just "what" but "why")
- ✅ Code examples (before/after if applicable)
- ✅ Prevention guidance (how to catch early)
- ✅ Cross-references (related issues)

**Avoid:**

- ❌ Vague descriptions ("something was wrong")
- ❌ Missing technical details ("fixed the code")
- ❌ No context (which version? which file?)
- ❌ Just code dumps (explain why it works)
- ❌ No prevention guidance
- ❌ No cross-references

---

## Example Scenario

**User:** "That worked! The N+1 query is fixed."

**Skill activates:**

1. **Detect confirmation:** "That worked!" triggers auto-invoke
2. **Gather context:**
   - Module: Brief System
   - Symptom: Brief generation taking >5 seconds, N+1 query when loading email threads
   - Failed attempts: Added pagination (didn't help), checked background job performance
   - Solution: Added eager loading with `includes(:emails)` on Brief model
   - Root cause: Missing eager loading causing separate database query per email thread
3. **Check existing:** No similar issue found
4. **Generate filename:** `n-plus-one-brief-generation-BriefSystem-20251110.md`
5. **Validate YAML:**
   ```yaml
   module: Brief System
   date: 2025-11-10
   problem_type: performance_issue
   component: rails_model
   symptoms:
     - "N+1 query when loading email threads"
     - "Brief generation taking >5 seconds"
   root_cause: missing_include
   severity: high
   tags: [n-plus-one, eager-loading, performance]
   ```
   ✅ Valid
6. **Create documentation:**
   - `docs/solutions/performance-issues/n-plus-one-brief-generation-BriefSystem-20251110.md`
7. **Cross-reference:** None needed (no similar issues)

**Output:**

✓ Solution documented

File created:

• docs/solutions/performance-issues/n-plus-one-brief-generation-BriefSystem-20251110.md

What's next?

1. Continue workflow (recommended)
2. Add to Required Reading - Promote to critical patterns (critical-patterns.md)
3. Link related issues - Connect to similar problems
4. Add to existing skill - Add to a learning skill (e.g., hotwire-native)
5. Create new skill - Extract into new learning skill
6. View documentation - See what was captured
7. Other

---

## Future Enhancements

**Not in Phase 7 scope, but potential:**

- Search by date range
- Filter by severity
- Tag-based search interface
- Metrics (most common issues, resolution time)
- Export to shareable format (community knowledge sharing)
- Import community solutions

## Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

- **Author:** [AntifragileTech](https://github.com/AntifragileTech)
- **Source:** [AntifragileTech/antifragile-claude-code](https://github.com/AntifragileTech/antifragile-claude-code)
- **License:** MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.