documentation

name

documentation

description

Use this skill to survey and catalog an Itential platform — when someone wants to know what's on their platform, document global assets (workflows, templates, LCM models, golden config, OM automations) that are NOT inside a named project, group them into logical use cases, and produce a master catalog or README. Trigger it for phrases like "document everything on the platform", "what use cases do we have?", "catalog all our global workflows", "I inherited this platform and have no idea what's there", "group our automations by use case", or "produce a platform README". The output is a structured catalog: customer-spec.md + solution-design.md per use case + master README. NOT for documenting a specific named project — use /project-to-spec for that. NOT for building new automation.

Documentation

Purpose: Read Itential assets → discover relationships → group into use cases → produce documentation Output: customer-spec.md (inferred HLD per use case) + solution-design.md (as-built LLD per use case) + README.md (master index, only when multiple use cases) Feeds into: Can be handed to /spec-agent for refinement or /solution-arch-agent for redesign

CRITICAL: Output Requirements

The ONLY deliverables are markdown files. Do NOT produce JSON index files, JSON catalogs, or any intermediate artifacts. All analysis happens in-memory.

{reports-directory}/
  README.md                          ← master index of all use cases ONLY when more than one use case
  {use-case-slug}/
    customer-spec.md                 ← inferred HLD (business purpose, scope, requirements)
    solution-design.md               ← as-built LLD (components, flows, adapters, data model)
  {use-case-slug}/
    customer-spec.md
    solution-design.md
  ...

Never write JSON files as output. No workflow-index.json, no asset-index.json, no use-case-groups.json. The user wants documentation, not data dumps.

---

What This Does

Surveys global Itential assets — workflows, JSON forms, transformations, templates, command templates, analytic templates, Operations Manager automations, golden configuration trees and compliance plans, and LCM resource models that live outside named projects. Accepts all, platform, a directory path, or a list of specific global asset names. Discovers how they relate to each other, groups them into logical use cases, and produces documentation for each group plus a master index when there are multiple use cases.

For a named project: Use /project-to-spec instead — it reads a single project's components and produces customer-spec.md + solution-design.md tailored to that project.

---

Flow

User invokes /documentation ['all' | 'platform' | directory | specific global asset names]
      |
      ├── Step 0: Determine Scope
      |     ├── Project named? → redirect to /project-to-spec
      |     ├── Specific global assets named? → resolve + discover relationships → ask grouping preference
      |     └── 'all' / platform / directory? → full collection + grouping flow
      |
      ├── Step 1: Collect + classify global assets (in-memory)
      ├── Step 2: Discover relationships + group into use cases (in-memory)
      ├── Step 3: Present proposed groupings to engineer for approval
      ├── Step 4: Write per-use-case reports (customer-spec.md + solution-design.md)
      ├── Step 5: Write master README.md (ONLY when more than one use case)
      └── Step 6: Present summary to engineer for review

---

Step 0: Determine Scope

Before collecting assets, determine what the user wants to document.

Pattern 1 — Project named

If the user names a specific project, redirect them to /project-to-spec — that skill is purpose-built for single-project documentation and produces a more thorough analysis.

"It looks like you want to document a specific project — use /project-to-spec for that. It reads the project's components directly and produces a more thorough customer-spec.md and solution-design.md for it."

Pattern 2 — Specific global asset(s) named

If the user provides one or more asset names or IDs:

1. Resolve each asset via the platform API or local files

2. Traverse the relationship graph starting from each named asset (childJob links, OM→workflow, LCM→workflow, golden config→command template, etc.)

3. Present the discovered asset cluster to the engineer:

   • List all assets found (named + discovered via relationships)
   • Show how they connect

4. Ask the engineer:

   "I found these assets and their relationships. How should I document them?"

   • (Default) Group into use cases — analyze and cluster into logical groups, then produce HLD+LLD per group
   • Document as a single unit — treat the entire cluster as one use case, produce one HLD+LLD
   • Document each asset independently — produce separate minimal documentation per asset without cross-linking

Proceed based on the engineer's answer.

Pattern 3 — All globals / platform / directory

If the user says all, platform, or provides a directory path, run the full collection and grouping flow (Steps 1–6) without asking about grouping preference.

---

Step 1: Collect and Classify Assets

Ask the engineer for the asset source if not specified. Two modes:

Mode A — Local Directory

Scan for asset JSON files organized by type:

directory/
  workflows/                          *.json
  json_forms/                         *.json
  transformations/                    *.json or *.jst.json
  templates/                          *.json
  command_templates/                  *.json
  operations_manager_automations/     *.json
  golden_config/                      *.json
  lcm/                                *.json

If the directory is flat (all JSON at root), classify by JSON structure signatures below.

If a projects/ subfolder exists, scan it too. Project manifest files (containing name + components[]) identify which assets belong to a project — use that grouping when building the relationship graph. Strip @projectId: prefixes from any workflow names found inside.

Mode B — Platform API

Authenticate using .auth.json (see AGENTS.md auth reuse pattern). Fetch global assets (ensure you fetch pagination if there are a lot of assets):

GET /automation-studio/workflows?exclude-project-members=true&limit=500
GET /automation-studio/templates?limit=500
GET /automation-studio/json-forms?limit=500
GET /operations-manager/automations
GET /mop/templates
GET /golden-config/trees
GET /golden-config/plans
GET /lifecycle-manager/model
GET /automation-studio/projects?limit=500

Visibility caveat: Global Automation Studio assets (the focus of this skill) are not access-restricted by ACL — they are visible to any authenticated client, so list endpoints like GET /automation-studio/workflows?exclude-project-members=true return the complete global set regardless of the calling client. The catalog of globals is therefore not undercounted by RBAC. The one exception in the list above is GET /automation-studio/projects?limit=500, which is filtered by per-project ACLs (each project must explicitly grant access to a user or group; there is no platform-wide admin or "all-projects" role). Since this skill targets global assets, projects are out of scope by default — but if the engineer names a specific project they expect, route to /project-to-spec, which handles visibility-vs-existence properly.

Classification Signatures

Asset Type	Identifying Fields
Workflow	tasks (object), transitions
JSON Form	schema, struct, uiSchema
Transformation	incoming, outgoing, steps
Template	type (textfsm/jinja2), template field
Command Template	commands[] with rules[]
Analytic Template	commands[] with analytics[] or baseline fields
OM Automation	triggers[], componentName
Golden Config Tree	nodes[], rootNode, treeType
Golden Config Compliance Plan	planType, configSpec, devices[]
LCM Resource Model	resourceType, actions[], schema

Build the asset index in-memory only. For each asset, note: name, file path/ID, type, and key metadata.

---

Step 2: Discover Relationships and Group

Relationship Discovery

Build a relationship graph in-memory connecting all assets:

1. Workflow → Workflow (childJob links): For each workflow task where name === "childJob" AND app === "WorkFlowEngine", extract child workflow name from variables.incoming.workflow. Strip @projectId: prefixes.

2. Workflow → JSON Form: Tasks where app === "JsonForms" or name contains RenderJsonSchema/JsonForm.

3. Workflow → Template: Tasks where app === "TemplateBuilder" (renderJinjaTemplate, applyTemplate, applyTextFSMTemplate).

4. Workflow → Transformation: Tasks where name === "transformation".

5. Workflow → Command Template: Tasks referencing MOP operations (runCommandTemplate).

6. OM Automation → Workflow: componentName field names the target workflow. Trigger types reveal entry mode: schedule, endpoint (webhook/API), manual (with optional formId).

7. LCM Resource Model → Workflow: Each LCM action has an actionWorkflow field naming an IAP workflow → link.

8. Golden Config Compliance Plan → Command Template: Plans reference MOP command templates for configuration checks → link.

9. Workflow → Golden Config: Workflows calling golden-config API tasks via adapter → link.

10. Adapter patterns: Collect tasks where location === "Adapter" — extract app (type name) and operation name.

11. Naming prefix clustering: Split on - (space-dash-space). Assets sharing a prefix are candidates for the same use case.

Grouping Rules (apply in order)

1. OM Automations as Entry Points: Each OM automation's componentName → root workflow → traverse childJob graph → collect all reachable workflows + referenced forms/templates/transformations/command templates = one cluster.

2. LCM Resource Models as Entry Points: Each LCM model → action workflows → traverse childJob graph → collect all reachable assets = one cluster. If a workflow cluster already contains these workflows, merge the LCM model into that cluster.

3. Golden Config Clusters: Golden config trees + their compliance plans + referenced command templates → one cluster. If workflows reference these golden config assets, merge into the same cluster.

4. Expand by Naming Prefix: Add ungrouped assets sharing the same naming prefix as assets already in a cluster.

5. Ungrouped Workflow Trees: Any root workflow (no parent) with children → new cluster.

6. Shared Utilities: Workflows appearing in 3+ clusters → "Shared Utilities" group. Also include: generic TextFSM templates, utility transformations (math, array ops), common utilities (MongoDB CRUD, credential retrieval, notifications).

7. Test / Standalone: Workflows with developer name prefixes, [TEST]/test-/dummy patterns, Jira ticket patterns, or <5 tasks with no children and no triggers → "Standalone / Test Workflows" (catalog only, no full HLD/LLD).

8. Remaining Ungrouped: Group by functional similarity or list as individual entries in master README.

Analyze the Components

Work through the components to reconstruct intent and structure.

Identify the orchestrator

Find the parent workflow — usually the one that:

• Has no childJob references pointing to it from other workflows
• References other workflows via childJob tasks
• Has the most complex transition graph

For LCM clusters, the resource model itself is the anchor — its action workflows are the orchestrators. For golden config clusters, the compliance plan anchors the cluster.

Map the data flow

For the orchestrator and each child:

1. What are the inputs? (inputSchema properties)
2. What adapters are called? (location: "Adapter" tasks)
3. What utility tasks are used? (merge, query, evaluation, childJob, makeData)
4. What are the outputs? (outputSchema properties, $var.job.x assignments)
5. What external systems are touched? (adapter names → infer ServiceNow, Route53, etc.)

Infer the phases

Each major section of the orchestrator maps to a phase:

• A childJob to a child workflow = one phase
• An evaluation branch = a decision point
• An adapter call cluster = an integration phase
• A ViewData = an approval gate
• Error handling branches = rollback/recovery phases
• An LCM action = a lifecycle phase
• A compliance plan check = a validation phase

Reconstruct acceptance criteria

From the workflow structure, infer what "done" looks like:

• What does the final outgoing variable represent?
• What adapters were called? → "ServiceNow ticket created and updated"
• What verifications exist? → evaluation tasks checking status
• What is the outputSchema? → these are the observable outcomes

---

Step 3: Present Groupings to Engineer

Stop and present the proposed groupings before writing any reports. Ask:

1. "Here are the use case groups I identified — does this look right?"
2. "These assets are ungrouped — should any be added to an existing group?" — default no
3. "These appear to be test/dev workflows — should I catalog or skip them?" — default skip

Show each group with: name, category (Core/Specialized/Shared/Reference), approximate asset count, and 1-line description.

Wait for engineer approval before proceeding to Step 4.

---

Step 4: Write Per-Use-Case Reports

For each approved use case group, create a directory (or write directly to reports root if only one use case) with two markdown files.

Produce customer-spec.md

Write professional, narrative documentation — not mechanical spec sheets. The HLD should read like a business-facing document with rich prose, detailed tables, and domain-specific context.

→ See template in helpers/documentation-output-templates.md — "customer-spec.md Template"

For test/standalone use cases, use a simplified catalog format — asset table with Purpose and Adapters columns only. No full HLD needed.

Produce solution-design.md

Write the as-built LLD — this is factual, not inferred. Each component should have at least a sentence description, so an engineer could understand the full system without reading the source JSON.

→ See template in helpers/documentation-output-templates.md — "solution-design.md Template"

Generating Section D: Execution Flow

The guidance and example are in the Section D placeholder in helpers/documentation-output-templates.md.

Do not add a sequence diagram to the HLD (customer-spec.md). Section 2 of the HLD is a narrative paragraph only.

---

Step 5: Write Master README

Only write this step when there are 2 or more use cases.

Create README.md at the root of the reports directory.

→ See template in helpers/documentation-output-templates.md — "README.md Template"

---

Step 6: Present to Engineer

Show a summary:

1. Asset inventory — total files analyzed per type
2. Use case groups — count and names
3. Reports produced — list of directories/files with customer-spec.md + solution-design.md
4. Excluded assets — what was skipped
5. Gaps — "I don't see rollback logic or notifications."

Ask the engineer to review the reports. Next steps:

• Accept — use the reports as-is
• Refine — hand specific use case specs to /spec-agent
• Redesign — hand to /solution-arch-agent
• Organize into projects — proceed to Step 7

---

Step 7: Organize Global Assets into Projects (Optional)

After the engineer accepts the use case groupings and reviews the reports, ask:

"Would you like me to create a project for each use case and move the assets in? Moving assets into a project renames them with an @projectId: prefix — anything currently referencing those assets by name will need updating. Shared utility assets will stay global. Should I proceed?"

If no, stop here. The documentation stands as-is.

If yes, for each approved use case group (skip "Shared Utilities"):

1. Create the project:

POST /automation-studio/projects
{"name": "{use-case-name}", "description": "{one-line from customer-spec.md}", "thumbnail": "", "backgroundColor": "#FFFFFF"}

Save data._id as projectId.

2. Add components:

POST /automation-studio/projects/{projectId}/components/add
{
  "components": [
    {"type": "workflow", "reference": "{workflow-id}", "folder": "/"},
    {"type": "template", "reference": "{template-id}", "folder": "/"},
    {"type": "mopCommandTemplate", "reference": "{mop-name}", "folder": "/"}
  ],
  "mode": "move"
}

Component type values: workflow, template, transformation, jsonForm, mopCommandTemplate, mopAnalyticTemplate

3. Build a reference impact report before moving anything:

Before executing any moves, scan all global workflows, OM automations, and LCM models to find references that will break. For each asset being moved, find:

• Workflows with a childJob task where variables.incoming.workflow matches the asset's current name
• OM automations where componentName matches the asset's current name
• LCM models where any actions[].actionWorkflow matches the asset's current name

Produce a table:

Asset being moved	Referenced by	Field	New name after move
VLAN_Provision_Parent	Monthly_Audit (workflow)	childJob.workflow	@abc123: VLAN_Provision_Parent
DNS_Create	DNS Automation (OM automation)	componentName	@abc123: DNS_Create

Show this to the engineer before proceeding:

"Moving these assets will break the following references. I won't fix them automatically — you'll need to update these manually after the move. Here's what needs changing:"

4. Execute the moves (after engineer confirms they've noted the impact):

For each group, run the POST .../components/add calls as above.

5. After all groups are processed, show a final summary:

Use Case	Project ID	Assets Moved	Broken References to Fix
{name}	{id}	{count}	{count} — see impact report above

Flag anything that couldn't be moved (already in a project, API error) for manual follow-up.

Warnings to keep in mind:

• Shared Utilities stay global — do not move them
• Assets already in a project cannot be moved again — skip and report
• Cross-project references (workflow in one project referencing a workflow in another) must use the full @{otherProjectId}: {name} format

---

What to Watch For

• Orphaned workflows: No childJob parent AND no OM trigger. May be standalone utilities, abandoned, or externally invoked. Check adapter usage to infer purpose.
• @projectId: prefixed names: Strip prefix (everything through colon+space) before matching.
• Empty componentName: Fall back to trigger names, actionId, or automation name.
• Duplicate/backup workflows: Names with "Backup", date suffixes, version numbers → note as backups, don't give own group.
• Cross-use-case shared workflows: Document fully in primary group, add cross-references in others.
• Transformation .jst.json naming: Match on internal name field, not filename.
• Template data field: Often a JSON string, not parsed object — parse before analyzing.
• Large TextFSM libraries: Group under Shared Utilities, not individual use cases.
• Command template rules: Each rule encodes a compliance check — valuable for HLD requirements.
• LCM actionWorkflow may be missing: If a LCM action has no linked workflow, note the gap — the action is defined but not implemented.
• Golden config trees without compliance plans: Document the structure but note there is no automated compliance enforcement.
• Workflow descriptions and task summaries are the best source of business intent — use them heavily.
• Non-hex task IDs: Task IDs like apush or myTask are a known bug pattern ($var references silently fail on these).
• Static values as indicators: Hard-coded strings in merge tasks or newVariable tasks often reveal business rules (e.g., "value": "production" → production-only path).
• Missing error transitions: Note any adapter tasks without error transitions — this is a quality gap in the existing implementation.

---

Gotchas

• Global assets are not access-restricted; projects are. Global Automation Studio assets (the focus of this skill) are visible to any authenticated client — RBAC does not undercount the global catalog. The /automation-studio/projects list, however, is filtered by per-project ACL (every project must explicitly grant a user or group; there is no platform-wide admin or "all-projects" role). For documenting globals, this is mostly out of scope; if the engineer names a specific project they expect, route to /project-to-spec rather than declaring it absent.
• NEVER produce JSON files as output. Only markdown reports.
• childJob workflow is the primary relationship link. Don't trace $var references across workflows.
• Naming prefix is a heuristic, not a rule. Prioritize childJob graph over naming when they conflict.
• OM automations can have multiple triggers. Document all of them.
• Not every asset connects. Don't force them into groups — catalog in Shared Utilities or Reference.
• When unsure about golden config or LCM relationships, ask the engineer rather than guessing.
• Master README is only for multiple use cases. Single use case → write files directly in reports directory, no subdirectory, no README.
• Task descriptions and summaries are the best source of intent — use them heavily.