context7

name	context7
description	Fetch up-to-date, version-specific documentation for any library, framework, or tool from Context7 (context7.com) into context. Use whenever accurate API references, installation steps, or usage examples are needed instead of relying on training-data knowledge that may be outdated — e.g. "how do I bootstrap Laravel 13", "current options for X", "the correct signature for Y in version Z".

Context7

Pull current, version-specific documentation from context7.com on demand. Context7 indexes official docs and source, then serves focused snippets. This skill wraps its HTTP API (curl + jq).

Why: model training data lags. For current major versions — or anything released after the training cutoff — fetching the real docs avoids hallucinated APIs, renamed methods, and wrong signatures.

Setup

Requires curl and jq. Make the helper executable once:

chmod +x {baseDir}/scripts/docs.sh

Workflow — two steps

1. Find the library

{baseDir}/scripts/docs.sh search laravel

Lists candidate libraries with their id, title, branch, and available versions (these __branch__X.x entries are the usable tags). Pick the official / verified one.

2. Fetch docs for a topic + version

{baseDir}/scripts/docs.sh get /laravel/docs 13.x --topic routing --tokens 4000

The script maps a bare version (13.x) to the internal __branch__ tag automatically. Output is ready-to-read Markdown with per-snippet source links.

Critical usage rules

• Always pass --tokens and --topic. Full libraries are often 100k–700k+ tokens — far beyond any context window. Scope every fetch. Sensible budgets: narrow topic 2k–4k; broad survey 6k–8k.
• One topic per fetch. If you need several areas, run multiple get calls (e.g. routing, then validation).
• Match the version to the codebase. Legacy code on 6.x → fetch 6.x, not latest. Always confirm the major version in composer.json / package.json first.
• search first when unsure. Don't guess a library id or version tag — resolve it, then get.
• Verify against reality. Context7 is authoritative for API shape, but still confirm generated code runs. Snippets include source links for traceability.

Options

search <query>                                  # list matching libraries (id, branch, versions)
get <library-id> <version> [options]            # fetch docs
  --topic "<text>"    focus area (e.g. "routing", "validation rules")
  --tokens <n>        max tokens returned (default 5000)

Examples

# Discover what's indexed for a framework
{baseDir}/scripts/docs.sh search react

# Laravel 13 routing
{baseDir}/scripts/docs.sh get /laravel/docs 13.x --topic routing --tokens 4000

# Laravel 13 install / bootstrap
{baseDir}/scripts/docs.sh get /laravel/docs 13.x --topic "installation create-project" --tokens 5000

# Match a legacy codebase
{baseDir}/scripts/docs.sh get /laravel/docs 6.x --topic "eloquent relationships" --tokens 4000

Troubleshooting

• could not fetch → the id or version tag differs from your assumption. Re-run search and use the exact id plus a version from its versions list.
• Empty / irrelevant output → topic too broad or too narrow. Rephrase (e.g. "route model binding" vs just "routes"), or raise --tokens.
• Raw API is documented at https://context7.com/api/v1 — endpoints: /search?query=, and /{libraryId}/{tag}?type=txt&topic=&tokens=.