| name | diataxis-classification |
| description | Classify documentation by audience and content type. Use when planning, auditing, or placing project documentation. |
Documentation Classification
Two questions: Who reads this? then What do they need?
1. Audience (pick one per document)
| Audience | Entry Point | Voice | Key Question |
|---|
| Agents | AGENTS.md | Imperative, terse, verifiable | "What do I DO?" |
| Users | README.md | Welcoming, progressive | "How do I USE this?" |
| Maintainers | CONTRIBUTING.md | Technical, explains why | "How do I CHANGE this?" |
Mixing audiences in one document serves neither. Split.
2. Content Mode (within each audience)
| Mode | Reader State | Structure | Example |
|---|
| Learning (tutorial) | Beginner | Numbered steps, verify each | "Build your first widget" |
| Doing (how-to) | Has a problem | Goal → steps → done | "How to configure auth" |
| Looking up (reference) | Needs a fact NOW | Tables, alphabetical | CLI flags, API reference |
| Understanding (explanation) | Curious, has time | Prose, diagrams, tradeoffs | "Why event sourcing" |
3. Placement
| Type | Path | Litmus Test |
|---|
| Decision (ADR) | decisions/ | "What did we decide and why?" |
| Specification | specs/ | "What must the system do?" |
| User guide | top-level or guides/ | "How does a user do this?" |
| Architecture | architecture/ | "How is it structured?" |
| Research | research/ | "What did we learn?" |
| Runbook | runbooks/ | "What steps fix this?" |
Before placing: check existing folder conventions first. Match what's there.
4. Right-Sizing
| Project Maturity | Required Docs |
|---|
| Weekend hack | README.md |
| Team project (>2 weeks) | + AGENTS.md, CONTRIBUTING.md, architecture doc |
| Multiple contributors | + tutorials, how-tos, ADRs, onboarding guide |
| Public/OSS | + reference, explanation, troubleshooting, glossary |
Rules
- One audience per document (README is the exception — it routes)
- ADRs are decision records with lifecycle, not "explanation"
- Agent docs are separate from human docs (different requirements)
- Don't create docs nobody will read — right-size to maturity