sync-docs

name	sync-docs
description	Doc audit and structural sync for xtrm projects. Use whenever the README feels too long, docs are out of sync after a sprint, the CHANGELOG is behind, or the user asks to "sync docs", "doc audit", "split readme", "check docs health", or "detect drift". Prefer the xtrm docs command suite (`xtrm docs list`, `xtrm docs show`, `xtrm docs cross-check`) for operator-facing inspection, then use docs-only drift detection on README.md, CHANGELOG.md, and docs/ plus the Python analyzers as validation/backstop tools.
gemini-command	sync-docs
version	1.3.0

sync-docs

Keeps project documentation in sync with code reality.

Overview

Phase 1: Gather context     — what changed recently?
Phase 2: Inspect with xtrm  — what does the docs suite already report?
Phase 3: Detect docs drift  — which docs/ files are stale?
Phase 4: Analyze structure  — what belongs outside README?
Phase 5: Plan + execute     — fix docs and changelog
Phase 6: Validate           — schema-check all docs/

Preferred workflow: use the xtrm docs command suite first for human/operator-facing inspection, then use the Python scripts for drift validation, structure analysis, metadata checks, and sync checkpoints.

Audit vs Execute mode: If the user asked for an audit/report/check-only task, stop after Phase 4. Only run fixes when the user explicitly asks for changes.

---

Phase 1: Gather Context

Start with the user-facing docs suite so the agent sees the same command surfaces users do:

xtrm docs list
xtrm docs list --json
xtrm docs show --json
xtrm docs cross-check --json --days 30

Use these commands for:

• xtrm docs list — inventory docs files, paths, titles, types, and cache-backed scans
• xtrm docs show --json — inspect frontmatter for README, CHANGELOG, and docs/*.md
• xtrm docs cross-check --json — gather stale-doc, coverage-gap, and open-issue-ref signals

Then gather deeper repository context if needed:

# Global install
python3 "$HOME/.agents/skills/sync-docs/scripts/context_gatherer.py" [--since=30]

# From repository
python3 "skills/sync-docs/scripts/context_gatherer.py" [--since=30]

Outputs JSON with:

• recently closed bd issues
• merged PRs from git history
• recent commits
• docs drift report from sync-docs/scripts/drift_detector.py

---

Phase 2: Inspect with xtrm docs

Treat the CLI docs suite as the primary operator workflow:

xtrm docs --help
xtrm docs list --json
xtrm docs show --json
xtrm docs cross-check --json --days 30

Use it to answer:

• what docs currently exist?
• which docs have missing or outdated metadata?
• are there coverage gaps between recent work and docs?
• do docs reference open issues?

If the xtrm docs suite already isolates the problem clearly, proceed directly to fixes. If you need machine-level drift validation for docs/*.md, continue to the Python drift detector.

---

Phase 3: Detect docs/ Drift

Use the Python detector as the authoritative drift/backstop check for tracked docs/*.md pages:

python3 "skills/sync-docs/scripts/drift_detector.py" scan --since 30
# optional JSON:
python3 "skills/sync-docs/scripts/drift_detector.py" scan --since 30 --json

A docs file is stale when:

1. It declares source_of_truth_for globs in frontmatter
2. AND there are commits affecting matching files AFTER the synced_at hash

synced_at Checkpoint

Add synced_at: <git-hash> to doc frontmatter to mark the last sync point:

---
title: Hooks Reference
updated: 2026-03-21
synced_at: a1b2c3d  # git hash when doc was last synced
source_of_truth_for:
  - "hooks/**/*.mjs"
---

After updating a doc, run:

python3 "skills/sync-docs/scripts/drift_detector.py" update-sync docs/hooks.md

This sets synced_at to current HEAD, marking the doc as synced.

---

Phase 4: Analyze Document Structure

python3 "skills/sync-docs/scripts/doc_structure_analyzer.py"

Checks:

1. README bloat/extractable sections
2. CHANGELOG staleness (date + version gap)
3. Missing focused docs files
4. Invalid docs schema (missing frontmatter)

Statuses: BLOATED, EXTRACTABLE, MISSING, STALE, INVALID_SCHEMA, OK.

If this is audit-only, stop here and report. In the report, include both:

• xtrm docs findings (operator-facing)
• Python analyzer findings (drift/structure enforcement)

---

Phase 5: Execute Fixes

Situation	Action
README bloated	Extract large sections to focused docs files
Missing docs file	Generate scaffold via validate_doc.py --generate
Stale docs file	Update content + bump version + updated
Stale CHANGELOG	Add entry with local changelog script
Invalid schema	Fix frontmatter and regenerate INDEX

Auto-fix known gaps

python3 "skills/sync-docs/scripts/doc_structure_analyzer.py" --fix
python3 "skills/sync-docs/scripts/doc_structure_analyzer.py" --fix --bd-remember

Create one docs scaffold

python3 "skills/sync-docs/scripts/validate_doc.py" --generate docs/hooks.md \
  --title "Hooks Reference" --scope "hooks" --category "reference" \
  --source-for "hooks/**/*.mjs,policies/*.json"

Validate and regenerate metadata/index

python3 "skills/sync-docs/scripts/validate_metadata.py" docs/

Re-run xtrm docs suite after fixes

xtrm docs list --json
xtrm docs show --json
xtrm docs cross-check --json --days 30

Use this pass to confirm the user-facing docs workflow now reflects the repaired state before final validation.

Add changelog entry

python3 "skills/sync-docs/scripts/changelog/add_entry.py" \
  CHANGELOG.md Added "Describe the documentation update"

---

Phase 6: Final Validation

Run both layers:

xtrm docs list --json
xtrm docs show --json
xtrm docs cross-check --json --days 30
python3 "skills/sync-docs/scripts/validate_doc.py" docs/
python3 "skills/sync-docs/scripts/drift_detector.py" scan --since 30

The xtrm docs commands confirm the end-user/operator view; the Python tools confirm schema and tracked-doc drift guarantees.

---

Frontmatter Schema

All docs/*.md files require valid YAML frontmatter. Scripts only validate docs/*.md (not subdirectories).

Required Fields

Field	Format	Example
title	string (quote if contains colon)	"Session-Flow: Pi Parity"
scope	string	hooks
category	enum (see below)	reference
version	semver	1.0.0
updated	date	2026-03-22

Valid Categories

Only these values pass validation:

Category	Use for
api	API documentation
architecture	System design, architecture decisions
guide	How-to guides, tutorials
overview	High-level introductions
plan	Planning documents, roadmaps
reference	Reference documentation

Invalid: roadmap, deprecated, complete — will fail validation.

YAML Quoting

Titles with special characters (colons, quotes) must be quoted:

# ✅ Correct
title: "Session-Flow: Pi Parity"
title: "What's New in v2.0"

# ❌ Incorrect — YAML parse error
title: Session-Flow: Pi Parity
title: What's New in v2.0

Optional Fields

Field	Format	Use
description	string (quoted)	Brief summary
source_of_truth_for	list of globs	Link to code areas
synced_at	git hash	Drift checkpoint
domain	list of tags	Categorization

---

docs/ as SSOT

docs/ is the only source of truth for project documentation in this workflow. Scripts validate docs/*.md only — subdirectories (docs/plans/, docs/reference/) are ignored. Use frontmatter (source_of_truth_for) to link docs pages to code areas and detect drift.

Command Selection Rules

Use xtrm docs commands first when the task is about understanding the current docs state:

• xtrm docs list --json → inventory and filtering
• xtrm docs show --json → frontmatter inspection
• xtrm docs cross-check --json → recent-work drift, coverage gaps, open issue refs

Use Python scripts when the task is about enforcement or synchronization internals:

• drift_detector.py → synced_at / source_of_truth_for drift checks for docs/*.md
• doc_structure_analyzer.py → README bloat, missing focused docs, changelog version gaps
• validate_metadata.py / validate_doc.py → schema/index validation

Do not replace the Python tools with xtrm docs; use the CLI for operator-facing inspection and the scripts for authoritative structural validation.