docs-manager

name	docs-manager
description	Documentation management workflow for MkDocs sites and standalone markdown files — initialize, generate, update docs, and create change summaries. Use when asked to "create docs", "write README", "update documentation", "generate docs site", "write CONTRIBUTING", "manage documentation", or "docs changelog".
dependencies	["deep-analysis"]

Documentation Manager Workflow

Execute a structured 6-phase workflow for managing documentation. Supports two documentation formats (MkDocs sites and standalone markdown files) and three action types (generate, update, change summary).

Phase Overview

Execute these phases in order, completing all applicable phases:

1. Interactive Discovery — Determine documentation type, format, and scope through user interaction
2. Project Detection & Setup — Detect project context, conditionally scaffold MkDocs
3. Codebase Analysis — Deep codebase exploration using the deep-analysis skill
4. Documentation Planning — Translate analysis findings into a concrete plan for user approval
5. Documentation Generation — Launch docs-writer workers to generate content
6. Integration & Finalization — Write files, validate, present results

---

Phase 1: Interactive Discovery

Goal: Determine through user interaction what documentation to create and in what format.

Step 1 — Infer intent from $ARGUMENTS

Parse the user's input to pre-fill selections:

• Keywords like "README", "CONTRIBUTING", "ARCHITECTURE" -> infer basic-markdown
• Keywords like "mkdocs", "docs site", "documentation site" -> infer mkdocs
• Keywords like "changelog", "release notes", "what changed" -> infer change-summary

If the intent is clear, present a summary for quick confirmation before proceeding (skip to Step 4). If ambiguous, proceed to Step 2.

Step 2 — Q1: Documentation type

If the documentation type is ambiguous or needs confirmation, prompt the user:

• "MkDocs documentation site" — Full docs site with mkdocs.yml, Material theme
• "Basic markdown files" — Standalone files like README.md, CONTRIBUTING.md, ARCHITECTURE.md
• "Change summary" — Changelog, release notes, commit message

Store as DOC_TYPE = mkdocs | basic-markdown | change-summary.

Step 3 — Conditional follow-up questions

If DOC_TYPE = mkdocs:

Prompt the user: Existing project or new setup?

• "Existing MkDocs project" -> MKDOCS_MODE = existing
• "New MkDocs setup" -> MKDOCS_MODE = new

Follow up (if existing): Prompt the user: What to do?

• "Generate new pages"
• "Update existing pages"
• "Both — generate and update" Store as ACTION.

Follow up (if new): Prompt the user: Scope?

• "Full documentation"
• "Getting started only (minimal init)"
• "Custom pages" Store as MKDOCS_SCOPE. If custom, prompt the user for desired pages (free text).

If DOC_TYPE = basic-markdown:

Prompt the user (multiSelect): Which files?

• "README.md"
• "CONTRIBUTING.md"
• "ARCHITECTURE.md"
• "API documentation" Store as MARKDOWN_FILES. If "Other" is selected, prompt the user for custom file paths/descriptions.

If DOC_TYPE = change-summary:

Prompt the user: What range?

• "Since last tag"
• "Between two refs"
• "Recent changes" Follow up for specific range details (tag name, ref pair, etc.).

Step 4 — Confirm selections

Present a summary of all selections and prompt the user:

• "Proceed"
• "Change selections"

If the user wants to change, loop back to the relevant question.

Immediately proceed to Phase 2.

---

Phase 2: Project Detection & Setup

Goal: Detect project context automatically, conditionally scaffold MkDocs.

Step 1 — Detect project metadata (all paths)

• Check manifests: package.json, pyproject.toml, Cargo.toml, go.mod, pom.xml
• Run: git remote get-url origin 2>/dev/null
• Note primary language and framework

Step 2 — Check existing documentation (all paths)

• Search for files matching docs/**/*.md, README.md, CONTRIBUTING.md, ARCHITECTURE.md
• For MkDocs: check for mkdocs.yml/mkdocs.yaml, read if found

Step 3 — MkDocs Initialization (only if DOC_TYPE = mkdocs AND MKDOCS_MODE = new)

1. Use the MkDocs configuration template below
2. Fill template with detected metadata (prompt the user if incomplete)
3. Generate mkdocs.yml, create docs/index.md and docs/getting-started.md
4. Present scaffold for confirmation before writing

If MKDOCS_SCOPE = minimal (getting started only): write the scaffold files and skip to Phase 6.

Step 4 — Set action-specific context (for update/change-summary)

For update modes, determine the approach:

• git-diff — Update docs affected by recent code changes (default if user mentions "recent changes" or a branch/tag)
• full-scan — Compare all source code against all docs for gap analysis (default if user says "full update" or "sync all")
• targeted — Update specific pages or sections (default if user specifies file paths or page names)

For change-summary, run git log and git diff --stat for the determined range.

Immediately proceed to Phase 3.

---

Phase 3: Codebase Analysis

Goal: Deep codebase exploration using the deep-analysis skill.

Skip conditions:

• Skip for change-summary (uses git-based analysis instead — see below)
• Skip for MkDocs minimal init-only (MKDOCS_SCOPE = minimal)

Step 1 — Build documentation-focused analysis context

Construct a specific context string based on Phase 1 selections:

Selection	Analysis Context
MkDocs generate	"Documentation generation — find all public APIs, architecture, integration points, and existing documentation..."
MkDocs update	"Documentation update — identify changes to public APIs, outdated references, documentation gaps..."
Basic markdown README	"Project overview — understand purpose, architecture, setup, key features, configuration, and dependencies..."
Basic markdown ARCHITECTURE	"Architecture documentation — map system structure, components, data flow, design decisions, key dependencies..."
Basic markdown API docs	"API documentation — find all public functions, classes, methods, types, their signatures and usage patterns..."
Basic markdown CONTRIBUTING	"Contribution guidelines — find dev workflow, testing setup, code style rules, commit conventions, CI process..."
Multiple files	Combine relevant contexts from above

Step 2 — Run deep-analysis

Refer to the deep-analysis skill (from the core-tools package) for codebase exploration and synthesis.

Pass the documentation-focused analysis context from Step 1.

Deep-analysis handles all worker orchestration (reconnaissance, team planning, approval — auto-approved when skill-invoked — team creation, exploration + synthesis). Since docs-manager is the calling skill, deep-analysis returns control without standalone summary.

Deep-analysis may return cached results if a valid exploration cache exists. In skill-invoked mode, cache hits are auto-accepted.

Step 3 — Supplemental analysis for update with git-diff mode

After deep-analysis, additionally:

1. Run: git diff --name-only [base-ref] for changed files
2. Search existing docs for references to changed files/functions
3. Cross-reference with synthesis findings

For change-summary path (instead of deep-analysis)

1. Run: git log --oneline [range] and git diff --stat [range]
2. Delegate to an exploration worker to analyze the changed files:

   Analysis context: Change summary for [range]
   Focus area: These files changed in the specified range:
   [list from git diff --stat]
   
   For each significant change, identify:
   - What was added, modified, or removed
   - Impact on public APIs and user-facing behavior
   - Whether any changes are breaking
   Return a structured report of your findings.
   

Immediately proceed to Phase 4.

---

Phase 4: Documentation Planning

Goal: Translate analysis findings into a concrete documentation plan.

Step 1 — Produce plan based on doc type

MkDocs:

• Pages to create (with docs/ paths)
• Pages to update (with specific sections)
• Proposed mkdocs.yml nav updates
• Page dependency ordering (independent pages first, then pages that cross-reference them)

Basic Markdown:

• Files to create/update (with target paths)
• Proposed structure/outline for each file
• Content scope per file

Change Summary:

• Output formats to generate (Format 1: Changelog, Format 2: Commit message, Format 3: MkDocs page — only if MkDocs site exists)
• Range confirmation
• Scope of changes

Step 2 — User approval

Prompt the user:

• "Approve the plan as-is"
• "Modify the plan" (describe changes)
• "Reduce scope" (select specific items only)

Immediately proceed to Phase 5.

---

Phase 5: Documentation Generation

Goal: Generate content using docs-writer workers.

Step 1 — Load templates

• If DOC_TYPE = change-summary: Use the change summary templates below
• If DOC_TYPE = basic-markdown: Use the markdown file templates from references/markdown-file-templates.md

Step 2 — Group by dependency

• Independent pages/files — Can be written without referencing other new content (API reference, standalone guides, individual markdown files)
• Dependent pages/files — Reference or summarize content from other pages (index pages, overview pages, README that links to CONTRIBUTING)

Step 3 — Launch docs-writer workers

Delegate to docs-writer workers for content generation.

Launch independent pages/files in parallel, then sequential for dependent ones (include generated content from independent pages in the prompt context).

MkDocs prompt template:

Documentation task: [page type — API reference / architecture / how-to / change summary]
Target file: [docs/path/to/page.md]
Output format: MkDocs
Project: [project name] at [project root]

MkDocs site context:
- Theme: Material for MkDocs
- Extensions available: admonitions, code highlighting, tabbed content, Mermaid diagrams
- Diagram guidance: The technical-diagrams skill is loaded — use Mermaid for all diagrams. Follow its styling rules (dark text on nodes).
- Existing pages: [list of current doc pages]

Exploration findings:
[Relevant findings from Phase 3 for this page]

Existing page content (if updating):
[Current content of the page, or "New page — no existing content"]

Generate the complete page content in MkDocs-flavored Markdown.

Basic Markdown prompt template:

Documentation task: [file type — README / CONTRIBUTING / ARCHITECTURE / API docs]
Target file: [path/to/file.md]
Output format: Basic Markdown
Project: [project name] at [project root]

File type guidance:
[Relevant structural template from markdown-file-templates.md]

Exploration findings:
[Relevant findings from Phase 3 for this file]

Existing file content (if updating):
[Current content, or "New file — no existing content"]

Generate the complete file content in standard GitHub-flavored Markdown.
Do NOT use MkDocs-specific extensions (admonitions, tabbed content, code block titles).
Diagram guidance: The technical-diagrams skill is loaded — use Mermaid for all diagrams. Follow its styling rules (dark text on nodes). GitHub renders Mermaid natively.

Step 4 — Review generated content

• Verify structure, check for unfilled placeholders
• Validate cross-references between pages/files use correct relative paths

Immediately proceed to Phase 6.

---

Phase 6: Integration & Finalization

Goal: Write files, validate, present results.

Step 1 — Write files

MkDocs:

• Create pages under docs/
• Update mkdocs.yml nav — read current config, add new pages in logical positions, preserve existing structure

Basic Markdown:

• Create files to their target paths (project root or specified directories)
• For updates, modify existing files

Change Summary:

• Present outputs inline for review
• Write files as applicable (e.g., append to CHANGELOG.md)

Step 2 — Validate

MkDocs:

• Verify all files referenced in nav exist on disk by searching for them
• Search for broken cross-references between pages
• If mkdocs CLI is available, run: mkdocs build --strict 2>&1 to check for warnings (non-blocking)

Basic Markdown:

• Validate internal cross-references between files (e.g., README links to CONTRIBUTING)
• Check that referenced paths exist

Step 3 — Present results

Summarize what was done:

• Files created (with paths)
• Files updated (with description of changes)
• Navigation changes (if MkDocs)
• Any validation warnings

For change-summary, present generated outputs directly inline.

Step 4 — Next steps

Prompt the user with relevant options:

MkDocs:

• "Preview the site" (if mkdocs serve is available)
• "Commit the changes"
• "Generate additional pages"
• "Done — no further action"

Basic Markdown:

• "Commit the changes"
• "Generate additional files"
• "Review a specific file"
• "Done — no further action"

---

Error Handling

If any phase fails:

1. Explain what went wrong
2. Ask the user how to proceed:
   • Retry the phase
   • Skip to next phase (with partial results)
   • Abort the workflow

Non-Git Projects

If the project is not a git repository:

• Skip git remote detection in Phase 2 (omit repo_url and repo_name from mkdocs.yml)
• The update action with git-diff mode is unavailable — fall back to full-scan or targeted mode
• The change-summary action is unavailable — inform the user and suggest alternatives

Basic Markdown on Non-Git Projects

• CONTRIBUTING.md is still viable — use project conventions instead of git workflow sections
• Skip branch naming and PR process sections; focus on code style, testing, and setup

Phase Failure

• Explain the error clearly
• Offer retry/skip/abort options

---

Worker Coordination

• Phase 3: Exploration and synthesis handled by the deep-analysis skill (from the core-tools package), which uses hub-and-spoke coordination. Deep-analysis performs reconnaissance, composes a team plan (auto-approved when invoked by another skill), assembles the team, and orchestrates its own exploration and synthesis workers.
• Phase 5: docs-writer workers launched for high-quality content generation. Parallel for independent files, sequential for dependent files.

---

MkDocs Configuration Template

Use this template when scaffolding a new MkDocs project in Phase 2.

site_name: PROJECT_NAME
site_description: PROJECT_DESCRIPTION
site_url: ""
repo_url: REPO_URL
repo_name: REPO_NAME

theme:
  name: material
  features:
    - navigation.tabs
    - navigation.sections
    - navigation.expand
    - navigation.top
    - search.suggest
    - search.highlight
    - content.code.copy
    - content.tabs.link
  palette:
    - scheme: default
      primary: indigo
      accent: indigo
      toggle:
        icon: material/brightness-7
        name: Switch to dark mode
    - scheme: slate
      primary: indigo
      accent: indigo
      toggle:
        icon: material/brightness-4
        name: Switch to light mode

markdown_extensions:
  - admonition
  - pymdownx.details
  - pymdownx.superfences:
      custom_fences:
        - name: mermaid
          class: mermaid
          format: !!python/name:pymdownx.superfences.fence_code_format
  - pymdownx.highlight:
      anchor_linenums: true
      line_spans: __span
      pygments_lang_guess: false
  - pymdownx.inlinehilite
  - pymdownx.tabbed:
      alternate_style: true
  - pymdownx.snippets
  - attr_list
  - md_in_html
  - toc:
      permalink: true

nav:
  - Home: index.md
  - Getting Started: getting-started.md

Field Descriptions

Field	Description	How to Set
site_name	Display name in header and browser tab	Use the project name from package.json, pyproject.toml, Cargo.toml, or directory name
site_description	Meta description for SEO	Use the project description from manifest file, or summarize from README
repo_url	Link to source repository	Detect from git remote get-url origin
repo_name	Display text for repo link	Extract owner/repo from the remote URL
site_url	Production URL for the docs site	Leave empty during scaffolding — user can set later

Git Remote Detection

Use this approach to populate repo_url and repo_name:

# Get the remote URL
REMOTE_URL=$(git remote get-url origin 2>/dev/null)

# Convert SSH to HTTPS if needed
# [e-mail]:owner/repo.git -> https://github.com/owner/repo
if [[ "$REMOTE_URL" == git@* ]]; then
  REMOTE_URL=$(echo "$REMOTE_URL" | sed 's|git@\(.*\):\(.*\)\.git|https://\1/\2|')
fi

# Extract owner/repo for repo_name
REPO_NAME=$(echo "$REMOTE_URL" | sed 's|.*/\([^/]*/[^/]*\)$|\1|' | sed 's|\.git$||')

If not a git repository or no remote is configured, omit repo_url and repo_name from the config.

Starter Pages

docs/index.md

# PROJECT_NAME

PROJECT_DESCRIPTION

## Overview

Brief overview of what the project does and who it's for.

## Quick Start

Minimal steps to get started:

1. Install the project
2. Run a basic example
3. Explore further documentation

## Documentation

| Section | Description |
|---------|-------------|
| [Getting Started](getting-started.md) | Installation and first steps |

docs/getting-started.md

# Getting Started

## Prerequisites

List prerequisites here (language runtime, tools, etc.).

## Installation

Installation instructions for the project.

## Basic Usage

A minimal working example demonstrating core functionality.

## Next Steps

Links to further documentation sections.

---

Change Summary Templates

Use these templates when generating change summaries in Phase 5.

Format 1: Markdown Changelog

Follows Keep a Changelog conventions. Refer to the changelog-format skill for additional guidance.

## [Unreleased]

### Added
- Add [feature] with [key capability]
- Add [new component] for [purpose]

### Changed
- Update [component] to [new behavior]
- Refactor [module] for [improvement]

### Fixed
- Fix [bug] that caused [symptom]

### Removed
- Remove [deprecated feature] in favor of [replacement]

Guidelines

• Use imperative mood ("Add feature" not "Added feature")
• One entry per distinct change
• Group related changes under the same category
• Focus on user-facing impact, not implementation details
• Order categories: Added, Changed, Deprecated, Removed, Fixed, Security

Format 2: Git Commit Message

Follows Conventional Commits style.

type(scope): summary of changes

Detailed description of what changed and why. Cover the motivation
for the change and contrast with previous behavior.

Changes:
- List specific modifications
- Include file paths for significant changes
- Note any breaking changes

BREAKING CHANGE: Description of breaking change (if applicable)

Type Reference

Type	Use For
feat	New features
fix	Bug fixes
docs	Documentation changes
refactor	Code restructuring without behavior change
perf	Performance improvements
test	Adding or updating tests
chore	Build, CI, or tooling changes

Guidelines

• Subject line: max 72 characters, imperative mood, no period
• Body: wrap at 72 characters, explain "why" not just "what"
• Include BREAKING CHANGE: footer for breaking changes
• Reference issue numbers where applicable: Closes #123

Format 3: MkDocs Documentation Page

Scope: This format applies only when the documentation target is an MkDocs site. For basic markdown projects, use Format 1 (Markdown Changelog) as the primary change summary output.

A full documentation page suitable for a changelog or release notes section.

# Changes: VERSION_OR_RANGE

Summary of changes for this release or period.

## Highlights

Brief summary of the most important changes in this release.

### New Features

#### Feature Name

Description of the new feature and its purpose.

### Improvements

- **Component**: Description of improvement
- **Performance**: Description of optimization

### Bug Fixes

- Fix [issue description] that affected [scenario] (#issue-number)

### Breaking Changes

The following changes require action when upgrading.

#### Change Description

**Before:**
(old API or behavior)

**After:**
(new API or behavior)

**Migration:** Steps to update existing code.

## Affected Files

| File | Change Type | Description |
|------|-------------|-------------|
| `path/to/file` | Modified | Brief description |

## Contributors

- @username — Description of contribution

Guidelines

• Include before/after code examples for API changes
• Provide migration guidance for breaking changes
• Link to relevant documentation pages for new features
• List affected files with change types (Added, Modified, Removed)

Choosing Formats

When the user requests a change summary, present the three format options:

Format	Best For
Markdown Changelog	Appending to an existing CHANGELOG.md
Git Commit Message	Describing changes in a commit or PR
MkDocs Page	Publishing release notes in the documentation site

The user may select multiple formats. Generate each independently — they serve different audiences and purposes.

---

Integration Notes

Capabilities Needed

This skill requires the following capabilities from the host environment:

• File system access: Read, write, and modify files in the project directory
• Search: Search for files by name patterns and search within file contents
• Shell execution: Run shell commands (git operations, mkdocs CLI)
• Parallel delegation: Ability to delegate work to independent sub-workers for documentation generation
• User interaction: Prompt the user for decisions, format selections, and plan approval

Adaptation Guidance

• Phase 3 (Codebase Analysis): Requires the deep-analysis skill from the core-tools package. If unavailable, perform manual codebase exploration by searching for relevant files and reading key modules.
• Phase 5 (Documentation Generation): The parallel docs-writer pattern can be replaced with sequential generation if parallel delegation is not supported.
• Markdown file templates: The references/markdown-file-templates.md file provides structural templates for README, CONTRIBUTING, ARCHITECTURE, and API documentation.