| name | build-guide |
| description | Generate a printable Typst build guide (source + PDF) for an ESP32/MCU project by analyzing its docs, source, and schematic |
| argument-hint | <project-path> |
| user-invocable | true |
| allowed-tools | Read, Write, Edit, Grep, Glob, Bash, Agent |
Task
Generate or update a printable build guide for the project at $1 (relative
path under packages/<domain>/). The guide is a Typst document plus a rendered
PDF, written to <project-path>/docs/build-guide.{typ,pdf}, aimed at someone
assembling and flashing the hardware from scratch.
It differs from the other doc skills by audience and format:
wiring-doc → WIRING.md: terse pin reference for developers.
project-readme → README.md: quick-start for the repo.
build-guide → docs/build-guide.pdf: an at-the-bench, print-ready guide
that pulls BOM + wiring + power + assembly + flash + checkout into one styled
document.
Process
-
Read the project sources to gather everything the guide needs. Prefer
authoritative sources over prose:
main/pin_config.h (or main/*.h) — authoritative GPIO / bus /
channel assignments. Pin numbers come from here, not the README.
WIRING.md — existing wiring tables, I²C topology, power diagram.
README.md, CLAUDE.md — purpose, architecture, provisioning, OTA notes.
sdkconfig.defaults — target chip, PSRAM/flash size, brown-out, mDNS,
stack sizes, console. Surface any load-bearing settings in troubleshooting.
justfile — real build / flash / monitor recipe names and flash offsets.
partitions.csv — flash layout / OTA partitions and offsets.
main/CMakeLists.txt — REQUIRES reveals components (camera, mdns, ota…).
- Any schematic image under
docs/schematics/images/<name>.png — embed it.
-
Identify the board and its constraints (PSRAM mode, 3.3 V-only GPIOs,
native USB-Serial-JTAG vs external adapter, GPIO budget, strapping pins).
-
Write <project-path>/docs/build-guide.typ using the shared template
(see below). Fill each section from real project data; omit sections the
project doesn't use rather than padding with placeholders.
-
Compile the PDF and link both files from the README (see Compiling
and Wiring up sections).
Using the shared template
Styling and helpers live in tools/typst/build-guide.typ so all guides look
consistent and improve together. Import it and drive the document with
#show: guide.with(...):
#import "../../../../tools/typst/build-guide.typ": guide, callout, htable, theme
#show: guide.with(
title: "<project-name>",
subtitle: "<one-line what it is>",
version: "<version.txt contents, if any>",
intro: [ short paragraph for the title page ],
meta: (
("Target MCU", [ESP32-S3 (8 MB PSRAM / flash)]),
("Toolchain", [ESP-IDF v5.4 (containerized)]),
),
difficulty: [Intermediate · \~2–3 h],
header-right: "<board name>",
footer-note: [ Pin data mirrors `main/pin_config.h`, which is authoritative. ],
)
= 1 · Overview
...
The relative import path assumes the guide lives at
packages/<domain>/<project>/docs/; from there ../../../../tools/typst/...
reaches the template. Adjust ../ depth for other nesting.
Helpers exported by the template:
guide(...) — page/text/heading styling + title page + table of contents.
Applied via #show: guide.with(...).
callout(title, body, kind: "info") — soft left-barred box. kind is one of
info, ok, warn, danger, purple. Override with bar:/fill: colors.
htable(cols, header, ..rows, aligns: none) — accent-header, zebra-body
table. header and each row are arrays of content cells.
theme — the color dictionary (theme.accent, theme.muted, theme.rule…).
Do not re-declare page setup, fonts, heading styles, or table colors in the
project file — inherit them from the template so a future style change is a
one-file edit.
Section structure
Use numbered level-1 headings so the table of contents reads as a build order.
Include a section only when the project uses it:
- Overview — what it is, architecture in 1–2 paragraphs,
callouts for the
headline facts (e.g. core split, "what you get").
- Bill of Materials —
htable of Qty / Component / Notes, then a short
"Tools required" paragraph. Flag voltage gotchas with a warn callout.
- System Architecture — embed the schematic via
#figure(image(...));
explain the bus/topology in prose.
- Wiring Reference — subsections of
htables derived from pin_config.h:
GPIO map, I²C topology, PWM/expander channel map, sensor pinouts.
- Power — rails, source, and a
danger callout for the common-ground rule.
- Assembly Steps — an ordered
+ list, power-first, ending with a
pre-power-up continuity check.
- Build & Flash — real
just <module>::* recipes in a code block, flash
offsets table (from justfile / partitions.csv), download-mode warn callout.
- First Boot & Provisioning — WiFi provisioning (Improv/creds), mDNS
hostname, AI backend, OTA.
- Functional Checkout — an
htable of tick-box (☐) checks vs expected
results, ordered to match assembly.
- Troubleshooting —
htable of Symptom / cause & fix, seeded from the
board's known failure modes and load-bearing sdkconfig settings.
End with a small muted footer line pointing at the authoritative sources
(pin_config.h, any ADR) and the regenerate command.
Compiling
Typst is not part of the container toolchain. If typst is missing, install the
CLI from crates.io (GitHub release binaries are blocked by the egress proxy):
CARGO_HTTP_CAINFO=/root/.ccr/ca-bundle.crt cargo install typst-cli --locked
Compile from the guide's directory with the repo root as the sandbox root so
the template import and shared schematic image resolve (both live outside the
project dir). Use the canonical flags — the build-guide-check.yml CI guard
recompiles every guide and fails if the committed PDF differs byte-for-byte, so
the PDF must be produced deterministically:
cd packages/<domain>/<project>/docs
typst compile --creation-timestamp 0 --ignore-system-fonts --root ../../../.. build-guide.typ
--creation-timestamp 0 pins the embedded PDF timestamp; without it the file
carries wall-clock time and never reproduces.
--ignore-system-fonts embeds only Typst's bundled fonts, so glyph fallbacks
are identical on every machine (otherwise Linux FreeSans vs macOS SF diverge).
- Match the Typst version the guard pins (see
TYPST_VERSION in
.github/workflows/build-guide-check.yml); a different compiler release
produces different bytes. Install it with
cargo install typst-cli --version <that-version> --locked.
Verify by rendering a page or two to PNG (--pages 1,3) and eyeballing the
layout before committing.
Commit both build-guide.typ and build-guide.pdf — the PDF is the
deliverable and lets people use the guide without installing Typst.
Wiring up the README
Add a short "Printable build guide" section to the project README.md linking
docs/build-guide.typ and docs/build-guide.pdf, plus the regenerate command.
Style rules
- Authoritative pins — every pin, address, channel, and offset comes from
source (
pin_config.h, partitions.csv, justfile). If source and prose
disagree, trust source and flag it.
- Fill, don't pad — omit sections the project doesn't use. A tight 6-page
guide beats a padded 12-page one.
- One style, one file — never copy the template's styling into the project
guide; import it. Improvements go in
tools/typst/build-guide.typ.
- Callouts for hazards — voltage mismatches, common-ground, PSRAM mode,
download-mode go in
warn/danger callouts, not buried in prose.
- Keep meta honest — read
version.txt, sdkconfig.defaults, and the
justfile for the meta box; don't invent toolchain versions.