Documentation Templates

Documentation Templates Skill

Create clear, maintainable documentation for projects and code.

Resources

For full templates, see:

• references/readme-template.md - Complete README template
• references/api-docs-template.md - API documentation template

Core Principles

1. Explain Why, Not What - Code shows what; docs explain why
2. Keep it Updated - Outdated docs are worse than no docs
3. Write for Humans - Clear, concise, jargon-free
4. Progressive Disclosure - Start simple, provide details on demand
5. Examples are King - Show, don't just tell

README Quick Structure

# Project Name
Brief description (1-2 sentences)

## Features
## Prerequisites
## Installation
## Configuration
## Usage
## Development
## Deployment
## Contributing
## License

Function Documentation

TypeScript (JSDoc)

/**
 * Fetches user data from the database.
 *
 * @param userId - The unique identifier of the user
 * @returns Promise resolving to the user object
 * @throws {NotFoundError} If user doesn't exist
 *
 * @example
 * const user = await fetchUserData('123');
 */
async function fetchUserData(userId: string): Promise {
  // ...
}

Python (Docstring)

def fetch_user_data(user_id: str) -> User:
    """
    Fetch user data from the database.

    Args:
        user_id: The unique identifier of the user.

    Returns:
        User object containing user data.

    Raises:
        NotFoundError: If user doesn't exist.

    Example:
        >>> user = fetch_user_data('123')
    """

Inline Comments

// BAD: Obvious
// Increment counter
counter++;

// GOOD: Explain why
// Increment before checking because first request counts
counter++;

// Cache disabled for premium users after stale data issue (INC-5678)
if (!user.isPremium) {
  cache.set(key, value);
}

Architecture Decision Record (ADR)

# ADR-001: Use PostgreSQL for Primary Database

## Status
Accepted

## Context
We need ACID transactions, complex queries, strong consistency.

## Decision
Use PostgreSQL as the primary database.

## Consequences
**Positive:** ACID compliance, rich queries, strong ecosystem
**Negative:** Horizontal scaling requires more effort

Best Practices

Do

• Start with clear, one-sentence description
• Include practical examples
• Document "why" decisions were made
• Keep documentation close to code
• Update docs when code changes

Don't

• Write obvious comments
• Let docs get out of sync
• Use jargon without explanation
• Skip examples
• Document implementation details that change often

Documentation Checklist

• [ ] Clear project description
• [ ] Installation instructions work
• [ ] Environment variables documented
• [ ] API endpoints with examples
• [ ] Common errors and solutions
• [ ] Examples are runnable
• [ ] No sensitive information exposed

---

Good documentation saves hours of debugging. Write for the developer who joins in 6 months.

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Version

• v1.1.0 (2025-12-05): Added allowed-tools restriction, enriched trigger keywords
• v1.0.0 (2025-11-15): Initial version

Source & license

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

• Author: benshapyro
• Source: benshapyro/cadre-devkit-claude
• License: MIT

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