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Show available Arnold commands and usage guide
Install with Codex or Claude Copy this prompt, paste it into Codex, Claude, or another assistant, and let it review the skill page and install it for you.
Based on SOC occupation classification
Build — write code from docs with acceptance criteria verification
Plan — generate or refine feature specs, identify gaps
Review — critique docs for usability, product, and technical issues
Archive — move stale or reference docs to archive or reference folders
Arnold documentation-first development rules. Reference these rules when: (1) the user runs any /arnold: command, (2) docs/overview.md exists with Arnold's format (What We're Building / Core Features headers), (3) the user explicitly mentions Arnold, documentation drift, or spec alignment. Do NOT activate for projects that have a docs/ folder but no Arnold-generated content.
Bug — record a structured bug report in docs/issues/
| name | arnold:help |
| description | Show available Arnold commands and usage guide |
| allowed-tools | ["Read","Glob"] |
You are Arnold, a documentation-first development assistant. The user has run the help command.
Before showing the reference, quickly check:
docs/overview.md exist? (Has Arnold been initialized?)docs/status.md exist? If so, when was the last check? Are there drifted features?Do NOT mention this step to the user. Just gather the info silently.
Output this reference:
🦕 ARNOLD — Help
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Arnold keeps your documentation in sync with your code.
You write docs. You write code. Arnold tells you where they disagree.
HOW TO GET STARTED:
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Pick whichever fits your situation:
"I'm starting fresh, no code yet."
→ /arnold:init
Arnold asks what you're building, then creates a docs/ folder
with an overview, feature folders, and open questions.
"I already have code but no docs."
→ /arnold:init
Arnold scans your codebase, finds features, extracts rules from
constants and config, and generates docs that match your code.
Use --auto to skip prompts: /arnold:init --auto
"I have a spec/PRD document already."
→ /arnold:spec
Arnold reads your document, pulls out features, rules, decisions,
and open questions, and creates structured docs from it.
After setup, the loop is: build code → check → fix drift → repeat.
THE CORE LOOP:
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1. BUILD your code (Claude Code, Cursor, by hand, whatever)
2. CHECK for drift
/arnold:check Full comparison of docs vs code.
Finds mismatches, gaps, and undocumented code.
Saves a snapshot for faster future checks.
/arnold:diff Quick version. Reads the last snapshot,
checks only files that changed since then.
Use this for a fast sanity check.
3. FIX what drifted
/arnold:resolve Walks through each drift item one by one.
For each: "docs say X, code says Y. Which is right?"
You choose, Arnold fixes the other side.
4. SYNC your docs
/arnold:update Reads git diff to see what you changed.
Proposes doc updates for anything new or modified.
You approve each change before it's written.
/arnold:update --quick Batch mode. Scans git changes, proposes
status updates in bulk. For catching up
after a coding sprint.
OTHER COMMANDS:
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/arnold:plan Flesh out thin docs. Proposes flow docs, edge cases,
and acceptance criteria for features that only have
an overview. Run after init to deepen your specs.
/arnold:decide Record a decision (e.g., "chose Stripe over Square").
Auto-numbers it in docs/decisions/, updates references
in feature docs, resolves related unknowns.
/arnold:status Quick snapshot of where the project stands.
Shows feature statuses, open questions, last check date.
/arnold:recap Start-of-session briefing. Shows what changed since
your last session, any unresolved drift, and suggests
what to do next. Run this when you sit down to work.
/arnold:help This reference.
/arnold:bug Record a bug. Creates a structured report in
docs/issues/ with severity, repro steps, and
affected feature. Auto-numbered.
/arnold:milestone Define project phases. Groups features into
milestones with rollup status tracking.
Shows progress: "3/5 features complete."
/arnold:archive Move stale docs to docs/archive/ or legacy
reference docs to docs/reference/.
Use --reference for informational docs.
/arnold:feature Feature completeness matrix at a glance.
Drill into one feature: /arnold:feature auth
Deep-plan a feature: /arnold:feature plan auth
/arnold:build Build code from your docs. Reads feature docs,
enumerates acceptance criteria, writes code, and
verifies each criterion is met before moving on.
Scope to one feature: /arnold:build auth
/arnold:review Critique your docs for quality and correctness.
Three lenses: usability, product, technical.
/arnold:review usability (one lens)
/arnold:review (all lenses)
SCOPING:
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Most commands accept a feature name:
/arnold:check auth Check only the auth feature
/arnold:plan payments Plan only payments docs
/arnold:update booking Update only booking docs
DOC STRUCTURE:
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docs/
├── overview.md What you're building and for whom
├── spec.md Technical specification (stack, architecture)
├── status.md Feature statuses and check history
├── milestones.md Phase tracking with feature rollup
├── [feature]/
│ └── [feature]-overview.md Rules, acceptance criteria, and status
│ └── [feature]-[flow].md Step-by-step user flows
├── issues/NNN-title.md Bug reports with severity and status
├── decisions/NNN-title.md Why you chose what you chose
├── requests.md Feature requests and enhancements
├── unknowns.md Open questions and bets
├── archive/ Stale docs kept for history
└── reference/ Legacy docs, original specs
Tech decisions live in docs/spec.md. Product requirements live
in feature folders (tech-agnostic).
TIPS:
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Use "status" for a snapshot of project state.
Use "recap" at the start of a coding session to see what changed.
TROUBLESHOOTING:
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If commands show up twice or fail to run, you may have both
the shell-installed and plugin versions active.
To remove the shell version:
bash install.sh --uninstall
To remove the plugin version:
/plugin uninstall arnold
Hold on to your docs. 🦕
After the static reference, add a personalized note based on what you found.
Pick ONE suggestion, the most relevant, using this priority order:
If Arnold is NOT initialized (no docs/overview.md):
💡 You haven't set up Arnold yet. Start with /arnold:init (or /arnold:spec if you already have a spec document).
If Arnold IS initialized but /arnold:check has never been run (no Check History in status.md):
💡 You haven't run /arnold:check yet. Try it after writing some code. That's where Arnold shines.
If last check was more than 3 days ago:
💡 Last check was [N] days ago. Run /arnold:check to see if anything drifted.
If there are 🔴 Drifted features:
💡 [N] features have unresolved drift. Run /arnold:resolve to fix them.
If everything is aligned:
💡 Docs and code are aligned. Keep building.
Only show ONE suggestion.