Documentation

Standards and process for maintaining accurate, useful documentation.

Announce at start: "I'm using the devflow:documentation skill to update docs."

When to Use

• After implementing a feature (Confirmation phase)
• When APIs change
• When reviewing documentation freshness
• When onboarding needs improvement

Checklist

1. Identify scope — what docs are affected by recent changes
2. Update content — make accurate, minimal changes
3. Verify accuracy — docs match current code behavior
4. Remove stale content — wrong docs are worse than no docs
5. Check completeness — new features have docs

Documentation Layers

1. Inline Comments

• When: Logic is non-obvious, business rules, workarounds
• Not when: The code is self-explanatory
• Rule: Explain WHY, not WHAT

// Good: explains why
// Retry 3 times because the payment API has transient 503s during deploys
await retry(chargeCard, { attempts: 3 });

// Bad: explains what (the code already says this)
// Call retry with 3 attempts
await retry(chargeCard, { attempts: 3 });

2. Function/Module Docs

• When: Public APIs, exported functions, complex interfaces
• Include: What it does, parameters, return value, errors, example

3. README

• When: Project entry point, setup instructions, key concepts
• Keep updated: Every user-facing feature change should be reflected

4. Architecture Docs

• When: System design, data flow, integration points
• Format: Short prose + diagrams. Not novels.

5. API Docs

• When: Any external or internal API
• Format: OpenAPI/Swagger for REST, schema docs for GraphQL

Mode Integration

Full Mode

agent({ action: "orchestrate", agents: ["documentation-writer"], task: "<description>" })
skill({ action: "getContent", skill: "documentation" })

Lite Mode

Read .context/agents/documentation-writer.md and .context/skills/documentation/SKILL.md.

Minimal Mode

Apply the checklist and layers above directly.

Anti-Patterns

Pattern	Problem
"I'll document later"	Later never comes. Document during Confirmation phase.
Documenting implementation details	Implementation changes; document behavior and contracts.
Copy-pasting code as examples	Examples should be simplified, self-contained.
No examples at all	One example beats three paragraphs of explanation.
Stale docs left in place	Wrong docs mislead worse than no docs. Remove or update.