update-docs

A set of instructions for creating detailed project documentation with file references, examples, workflows, and troubleshooting guidance.

In plain words
What is it for?
Use it to document a project's purpose, architecture, build process, feature patterns, debugging, testing, deployment, and important file locations.
Why use it?
It helps people and language models understand an unfamiliar codebase without searching through files blindly.

Cursor rule

Install

Getting it into your agent

One page per mod, every tool's command on it. A separate URL per tool would split the same page into five that compete with each other.

agentmods
npx agentmods add rules/steipete/agent-rules/update-docs
Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/steipete/agent-rules
Per session 1,833 This file is loaded in full into every session.
When invoked 1,833 The same file — it is already loaded in full.
Security scan A 0 findings. Scan, not verified.
Origin original No closer match found in the catalogue.
Token cost

What it costs to keep this loaded

Counted locally with the o200k_base tokenizer, which is exact for GPT models; Claude uses its own tokenizer and its counts differ. Treat this as one consistent yardstick across the catalogue rather than a bill. Prices are per million input tokens.

ModelPer sessionOnce invoked
Fable 5 $0.01833 $0.01833
Opus 5 $0.00916 $0.00916
Sonnet 5 $0.00367 $0.00367
Haiku 4.5 $0.00183 $0.00183

Measured yesterday against content hash c27f72c68377, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-08-30, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade A, and why

update-docs scanned grade A with 0 findings against 26 rules in 11 categories — prompt injection, anti-refusal, data exfiltration, privilege escalation, supply chain, agent snooping, system-prompt leakage, SSRF and excessive agency — measured yesterday.

A static scan of the body, not an audit. Every finding is printed with the line that produced it so you can judge whether it matters here. A mod is markdown that instructs an agent; that is exactly why what it instructs is worth reading.

Nothing flagged

None of the 26 patterns this scan looks for appear in this file: no shell pipes, no recursive deletes, no credential paths, no hidden text, no instruction-override or anti-refusal phrasing, no agent-config snooping. That is not a guarantee, it is the absence of the things that are checkable.

project-rules/update-docs.mdc · 198 lines

How it starts

The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 198 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.

Update Documentation

You will generate LLM-optimized documentation with concrete file references and flexible formatting.

Your Task

Create documentation that allows humans and LLMs to:

  • Understand project purpose - what the project does and why
  • Get architecture overview - how the system is organized
  • Build on all platforms - build instructions with file references
  • Add features/subsystems - following established patterns with examples
  • Debug applications - troubleshoot issues with specific file locations
  • Test and add tests - run existing tests and create new ones
  • Deploy and distribute - package and deploy the software

Required Documentation Structure

Each document MUST include:

  1. Timestamp Header - Hidden comment with last update timestamp
  2. Brief Overview (2-3 paragraphs max)
  3. Key Files & Examples - Concrete file references for each major topic
  4. Common Workflows - Practical guidance with file locations
  5. Reference Information - Quick lookup tables with file paths

Timestamp Format

Each generated file MUST start with:

<!-- Generated: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS UTC -->

Process

You will:

  1. Analyze the codebase systematically across 7 key areas (merging development+patterns)
  2. Create or update docs in docs/*.md with concrete file references
  3. Synthesize final documentation into a minimal, LLM-friendly README.md
  4. Eliminate all duplication across files

Analysis Methodology

For each area, agents should:

  1. Examine key files: Look for build configs, test files, deployment scripts, main source files
  2. Extract file references: Note specific files, line numbers, and examples
  3. Identify patterns: Find repeated structures, naming conventions, common workflows
  4. Make content LLM-friendly: Token-efficient, reference-heavy, practical examples

Specific File Requirements

Issue the following Task calls in parallel:

Project Overview (docs/project-overview.md): STRUCTURE:

  • Overview: What the project is, core purpose, key value proposition (2-3 paragraphs)
  • Key Files: Main entry points and core configuration files
  • Technology Stack: Core technologies with specific file examples
  • Platform Support: Requirements with platform-specific file locations

Read the full file on GitHub · 198 lines

Changes

What this file has done since we first saw it

Hashed on every crawl. A supply-chain change to an agent config is a question of when, not whether, so the history is kept rather than the latest state alone.

  1. yesterday First seen · 198 lines · 1,833 tokens per session scan A c27f72c68377

Subscribe to this mod's changes

update-docs is a cursor rule published in the GitHub repository steipete/agent-rules (5,696 stars, last pushed 4mo ago), licensed MIT. It adds 1,833 tokens to every session, about $0.0092 per session on Opus 5. A static security scan graded it A with 0 findings. No closer match exists in the catalogue, so it is treated as the original; first seen 2026-08-30.