documentation

Project self-documentation

Keep instructions short: instruction file -> documentation index -> relevant document. Use the deterministic scripts for discovery and validation; update explanatory prose from the actual implementation and reviewed evidence.

Locate resources and assess the project

Resolve this loaded SKILL.md's directory as SKILL_DIR. Its scripts/ and references/ directories are self-contained siblings; do not search another plugin's cache or assume a fixed user home, shell or install location.

Read the target project's applicable instructions first. Check Node.js is 18+ and inspect the existing documentation configuration, instruction markers and hook arrangement. Choose explicit source roots and a documentation directory. Source inventories read filenames only. Do not include sensitive/private data paths or broaden an existing allowlist without reviewing its scope.

Read metadata and lifecycle rules when classifying or creating documents, migrating a catalog, or resolving validation failures.

Set up documentation only

Before the first installation, create documentation.config.json when a different generator owns tree/module blocks or a handwritten index must remain intact:

{
  "version": 1, "sourceRoots": ["src", "scripts"], "docsRoot": "docs",
  "instruction": "CLAUDE.md", "index": "docs/classified-index.md",
  "strict": false, "managedMarkers": ["docs"]
}

Use reviewed project roots. This example preserves the handwritten docs/index.md and existing tree/module generator; new projects can use the installer defaults.

Run the bundled installer from the target project with absolute, quoted paths:

node "<SKILL_DIR>/scripts/install.js" --target="<project-root>"

The default instruction file is CLAUDE.md. Select --instruction=AGENTS.md when appropriate; set --sources=src,lib,scripts and --docs=docs to reviewed roots. The installer preserves authored text and configuration, copies portable scripts to scripts/self-documentation/, and generates the configured index. It does not install package dependencies or edit Claude/Codex settings or permission files.