write-docs

Documentation Standard

All structured docs live under docs/. Each subdirectory is a category (e.g., docs/design/, docs/guides/, docs/troubleshooting/). Follow this standard when creating new docs or modifying existing ones.

Red Flag

Never:

• Lead with analysis instead of the decision
• Include implementation details that belong in code
• Mix languages within one document
• Silently delete history — mark superseded sections, don't erase them
• Create a doc without adding it to the docs index
• Mark a doc as current without verifying claims against code
• Skip the Boundaries section in design docs — it's the core anti-drift mechanism
• Use a duplicate number within a category

Frontmatter (Required)

Every managed doc MUST start with YAML frontmatter:

---
title: "Human-readable title"
description: "One sentence, under 120 chars — enough for an AI to decide whether to read the doc."
category: "design"
number: "002"
status: current | partially-outdated | superseded | draft | not-implemented
services: [scripts, hooks]  # only when specific dirs/components are affected
superseded_by: "034"        # only when status is superseded
related: ["design/001", "guides/003"]  # category-qualified when cross-category
last_modified: "2026-04-13"
---

Required Fields

• title: Match the # heading below the frontmatter. Use quotes if it contains special chars.
• description: One concise sentence. This gets injected into session context as an index — write it for an AI that needs to decide "should I read this doc?" without opening it. Max 120 chars.
• category: Matches the subdirectory name (e.g., "design", "guides", "troubleshooting"). Must be one of the subdirectories under docs/.
• number: Unique within its category. Zero-padded 3 digits (e.g., "002", "029"). Used for file naming (029-topic.md) and cross-referencing.
• status: One of the 5 allowed values. See Status Lifecycle below.
• last_modified: ISO date (YYYY-MM-DD) when the doc was last updated. Must be updated on every edit.

Conditional Fields

• services: Array of affected directories or components. Helps agents match "I'm editing X, does a doc cover this?"
• superseded_by: Required when status is superseded. Points to the replacement doc as category/number.
• related: Include when related docs exist. Array of category/number references for navigation.

Docs Index

After creating or updating a doc, regenerate the index:

bash "${SHIP_PLUGIN_ROOT:-$(ship-plugin-root 2>/dev/null)}/scripts/generate-docs-index.sh"

This produces docs/DOCS_INDEX.md — a compact table (Category, #, Status, Name, Description, Last Modified, Path) injected at session start so agents know what docs exist without reading each one. Superseded docs are excluded from the index.

Status Lifecycle

draft → current → partially-outdated → superseded
                ↘ not-implemented (if design was never built)

Status	Meaning
draft	Proposed but not yet approved or implemented
current	Content matches production code
partially-outdated	Core content still applies but some details have drifted from code
superseded	Replaced by another doc — must set superseded_by
not-implemented	Approved but never built

When changing status, also update last_modified to today's date.

Numbering

• Next available number: check ls docs/<category>/ | sort and pick the next zero-padded 3-digit number (e.g., 003, 010).
• No duplicate numbers within a category. Each top-level doc or directory within a category gets a unique number.
• Sub-documents inside a directory (e.g., design/014-credentials-vault/plan-1-vault-service.md) share the parent number.

File Naming

docs/<category>/{number}-{kebab-case-topic}.md

Examples:

• docs/design/029-prototype-v3-web-migration.md
• docs/guides/003-getting-started.md
• docs/troubleshooting/001-auth-failures.md

Document Structure

---
(frontmatter)
---

# {Number} — {Title}

## Status

{Status explanation with context — why it has this status, what changed}

## Summary

{2-3 sentences: what problem this solves and the key content}

## (Body sections — flexible per topic and category)

## References

- Related docs, external links, prior art

Writing Rules

• Lead with the decision or answer, not the analysis. Readers want to know "what" before "why."
• Use concrete file paths, struct names, and API endpoints — not abstractions.
• If the doc is in Chinese, keep it in Chinese. If in English, keep it in English. Don't mix.
• Mark superseded sections inline with strikethrough or a note, don't silently delete history.
• When content changes, update the existing doc rather than creating a new one — unless the change is a complete replacement (then supersede).

Category Conventions

Each category has its own natural structure. The frontmatter and status lifecycle are universal; the body structure varies by category.

design (architectural decisions)

• Boundaries section required — the core anti-drift mechanism
• Trade-offs section recommended — what alternatives were considered, what was given up, and why this choice won
• Assumptions section recommended — state what must be true for this design to hold (e.g., "assumes < 10k users", "assumes single-region"). When assumptions change, the doc is stale.
• Lead with the decision, not the analysis
• Verify claims against code before marking current

guide (how-to guides)

• Step-by-step structure with numbered steps
• Include prerequisites and expected outcomes
• Code examples should be copy-pasteable

troubleshooting (debug playbooks)

• Symptom → Diagnosis → Fix structure
• Include exact error messages for searchability
• Link to related design docs for context

reference (API docs, schemas, config reference)

• Organized by entity or endpoint
• Include examples for every parameter
• Version-sensitive — note which versions apply

Other categories

• Any subdirectory under docs/ becomes a category
• Follow the universal frontmatter and naming rules
• Adapt the body structure to what serves the category best

Cross-References

• Reference docs in the same category by number: "see 023-agent-broker-architecture"
• Reference docs in other categories with category prefix: "see guides/003-getting-started"
• When renaming/renumbering, update ALL references. Use: grep -r "old-name" docs/

Verification

Before marking a doc as current, verify key claims against code:

• Do referenced file paths exist?
• Do referenced struct/function names exist?
• Do referenced API endpoints exist?
• Does the described architecture match the actual service boundaries?

Update last_modified when you complete verification.

Execution Handoff

After writing or updating a doc, regenerate the index and output the report card (read skills/shared/report-card.md for the standard format):

## [Write Docs] Report Card

| Field | Value |
|-------|-------|
| Status | <DONE / BLOCKED> |
| Summary | <category/number: doc title — created / updated / superseded> |

### Metrics
| Metric | Value |
|--------|-------|
| Docs created | <N> |
| Docs updated | <N> |
| Index regenerated | yes / no |

### Artifacts
| File | Purpose |
|------|---------|
| docs/<category>/<number>-<topic>.md | The doc |
| docs/DOCS_INDEX.md | Regenerated index |

### Next Steps
1. **Review the doc** — read it and verify claims against code
2. **Design thinking** — /ship:arch-design if the architectural analysis needs more depth
3. **Ship it** — /ship:handoff to create a PR with the doc changes