user-guide-writing

name	user-guide-writing
description	Write user-facing documentation for onboarding, tutorials, task how-to guides, FAQs, help-center updates, and release-facing help refreshes. Use when the main job is helping end users or admins complete a product workflow, recover from a blocker, or understand a changed UI path. Triggers on: user guide, tutorial, getting started, onboarding doc, help article, how-to, FAQ, knowledge-base article, support doc, release help update, and customer-facing documentation. Route internal specs/runbooks to `technical-writing`, API portals/SDK docs to `api-documentation`, and release-note hygiene to `changelog-maintenance`.
allowed-tools	Read Write Edit Glob Grep
compatibility	Best for Markdown, help-center, docs-site, or knowledge-base workflows where the output teaches someone how to complete a task in the product rather than how the underlying system is implemented.
license	MIT
metadata	{"tags":"user-guides, tutorials, documentation, onboarding, how-to, faq, help-center, customer-docs, product-education","platforms":"Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini","version":"2.1.0","modernization":"2026-04-13T00:00:00.000Z","hardening":"2026-04-17T00:00:00.000Z"}

User Guide Writing

Use this skill when the deliverable is customer-facing or admin-facing documentation that helps someone complete a workflow in the product.

user-guide-writing is the documentation-cluster anchor for:

• getting-started / first-success guides
• tutorials and guided walkthroughs
• task-based how-to articles
• FAQs and support-oriented answer sets
• release-facing help updates after shipped UI/workflow changes
• small guide sets that combine one primary page with the minimum supporting companion docs

Read these support docs before choosing the mode or boundary:

• references/document-modes-and-boundaries.md
• references/mode-structures.md
• references/workflow-checklist.md
• references/maintenance-signals.md

When to use this skill

• A product needs a getting-started guide that gets a new user to the first successful outcome.
• A feature launch needs a tutorial or how-to article for real product users.
• A help center needs a task-based article, FAQ, or troubleshooting-friendly walkthrough.
• Support pain keeps recurring and the answer should become durable customer-facing documentation.
• A workflow changed and the existing user-facing steps, screenshots, warnings, or prerequisites need to be updated.
• A request really needs one guide plus a tiny companion packet instead of a huge mixed-purpose document.

When not to use this skill

• The main job is an internal spec, architecture doc, ADR, runbook, migration plan, or builder-facing implementation guide → use technical-writing.
• The main job is API reference, SDK docs, webhook docs, developer quickstarts, or developer-portal content → use api-documentation.
• The main job is release notes, CHANGELOG.md, migration announcements, or shipped-change summaries → use changelog-maintenance.
• The main job is a deck, launch presentation, workshop slide set, or visual review artifact → use presentation-builder.
• The main job is product positioning, marketing messaging, lifecycle email copy, or launch copy → use marketing-automation.