web-docs-search

Web Documentation Search

1. Purpose

Finding accurate, up-to-date documentation for external libraries and tools requires targeted search strategies. Generic queries return tutorials and blog posts — useful, but often outdated or inaccurate. This skill provides a hierarchy of authoritative sources and proven query patterns to find canonical documentation quickly.

2. Documentation Source Hierarchy

Always prefer sources in this order — stop as soon as you find a sufficient answer:

Priority	Source	When to use
1	Official documentation site	All cases — highest trust
2	npm / PyPI / crates.io package page	Package overview, README, links to docs
3	GitHub repository (/docs, /wiki, README.md)	When official site is lacking or missing
4	MDN Web Docs	Browser APIs, Node.js built-ins, Web standards
5	Stack Overflow	Error resolution, edge cases, usage patterns

Never use tutorials, blog posts, or Medium articles as a primary source. They may document outdated APIs.

3. Search Query Patterns

Finding the official docs site

[library name] official documentation
[library name] api reference
[library name] docs site:[known-docs-domain]

Examples:

lodash official documentation
@tanstack/react-query api reference
zod schema validation docs

Finding a specific method or API

[library name] [method name] documentation
[library name] [class name] [method] api
site:[docs-domain] [method name]

Examples:

lodash debounce documentation
react-query useInfiniteQuery options
site:axios-http.com create instance

npm packages (JavaScript / TypeScript)

site:npmjs.com [package-name]
[package-name] npm readme

Or use Bash for instant metadata:

npm info <package> homepage        # official docs URL
npm info <package> version         # latest stable version
npm info <package> description     # one-line summary
npm info <package> repository      # GitHub repo URL

Python packages

site:pypi.org [package-name]
[package-name] python documentation
[package-name] readthedocs

Rust crates

site:docs.rs [crate-name]
[crate-name] rust documentation

MDN Web Docs (browser/Node.js built-ins)

site:developer.mozilla.org [API name]
mdn [method name]

Examples:

site:developer.mozilla.org Promise.all
mdn Array.prototype.flatMap
mdn fetch api

Error-driven searches

When debugging an error from an external library:

"[exact error message]" [library name]
[library name] [error type] [method name]
[library name] [version] breaking change [method]

Examples:

"TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined" axios
lodash TypeError map undefined
react-query v5 breaking changes useQuery

4. Fetching Documentation Pages

URL patterns to prefer

When using WebFetch, target these URL patterns over homepage/landing pages:

Type	Pattern
API reference	/api/[method], /reference/[name]
Guide section	/docs/[topic], /guide/[topic]
GitHub docs	github.com/[org]/[repo]/blob/main/docs/[file].md
GitHub raw	raw.githubusercontent.com/[org]/[repo]/main/docs/[file].md
npm README	npmjs.com/package/[name] — scroll to README
PyPI README	pypi.org/project/[name]/
Rust docs	docs.rs/[crate]/latest/[crate]/[module]/struct.Type.html

GitHub raw markdown

For GitHub repositories, fetch raw markdown for clean, structured content:

# Replace:
https://github.com/org/repo/blob/main/docs/api.md

# With:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/org/repo/main/docs/api.md

Changelog and version-specific docs

When version differences matter:

• Check CHANGELOG.md in the GitHub repository
• Look for /docs/migration or /docs/upgrading pages
• Check versioned URL patterns: /v4/api/, /docs/5.x/

5. Quick Reference: Common Ecosystems

JavaScript / TypeScript (npm)

# Quick package metadata
npm info <package>

# Find homepage (docs URL)
npm info <package> homepage

# Check if package exists
npm view <package> name

Common doc sites:

• React: react.dev
• Next.js: nextjs.org/docs
• lodash: lodash.com/docs
• axios: axios-http.com/docs
• @tanstack/react-query: tanstack.com/query/latest/docs
• zod: zod.dev
• TypeScript: typescriptlang.org/docs
• Vitest: vitest.dev/api

Python (PyPI)

Common doc sites:

• Django: docs.djangoproject.com
• FastAPI: fastapi.tiangolo.com
• Pydantic: docs.pydantic.dev
• SQLAlchemy: docs.sqlalchemy.org
• Requests: requests.readthedocs.io

Browser / Node.js Built-ins

Always use MDN:

• developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/[API]
• developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/[type]

6. When Documentation Is Insufficient

If official docs don't cover the specific question:

1. Check the GitHub Issues tab — search for the error message or method name
2. Check GitHub Discussions or Wiki
3. Search Stack Overflow with [library] [version] [topic]
4. Look for community documentation: awesome-[library] repos, official Discord/Slack links

Always report the source URL and note if the answer came from unofficial sources.