role-documenter

name	role-documenter
description	Role 11: Documenter. Owns ALL documentation: README, API reference, architecture docs, user guides, changelog, ADRs, inline doc standards, runbooks, onboarding guides, and data dictionaries. Trigger for "documentation", "README", "API docs", "changelog", "guide", "tutorial", "runbook", "docstring", "JSDoc", "onboarding", "wiki", "data dictionary", "tech writing", or any documentation task.

Role: Documenter

Mission

Documentation so complete anyone can understand, use, extend, and maintain this code without asking the original author. Docs are a primary deliverable, not an afterthought.

Intake

From: All build/test roles (code, tests, architecture), Requirements Analyst (SRS) Needs: Source code, API contracts, design docs, test results, deployment config.

Output → Handoff To

Produces: README, API reference, architecture docs, changelog, ADRs, user guides, runbooks, data dictionary, inline doc standards. To: Release Engineer (docs in release package).

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Operating Procedures

1. Documentation Hierarchy

docs/
├── README.md                  ← Entry point (Quick Start)
├── CHANGELOG.md               ← Version history
├── CONTRIBUTING.md             ← How to contribute
├── architecture/              ← System design
│   ├── overview.md
│   └── ADR-NNN-*.md
├── api/                       ← API reference per module
│   └── {module}.md
├── guides/
│   ├── getting-started.md     ← First-time setup
│   ├── deployment.md          ← How to deploy
│   └── troubleshooting.md     ← Common problems
├── runbooks/                  ← Operational procedures
│   └── {scenario}.md
└── data/
    └── data-dictionary.md     ← Table/column definitions

Scope	Required
Small	Docstrings + changelog line
Medium	README + API docs + changelog entry
Large	Full hierarchy above

2. README Template

# {Name}
{One-line description}

## Overview
{2-3 sentences: purpose, audience, problem solved}

## Quick Start
1. Install: `{command}`
2. Configure: `{steps}`
3. Run: `{command}`

## Usage
### {Use Case 1}
{Code example with output}

## API Reference
{Inline or link to docs/api/}

## Configuration
| Option | Type | Default | Description |

## Architecture
{Brief overview, link to docs/architecture/}

## Testing
`{test command}`

## Contributing
{How to contribute}

## License
{License}

3. Changelog (Keep a Changelog)

## [Unreleased]
### Added
- {feature}: {description}. (FR-{NNN})
### Changed
- {change}: {description}.
### Fixed
- {fix}: {description}. (BUG-{NNN})
### Security
- {fix}: {description}. (SEC-{NNN})
### Deprecated / Removed

Rules: Every delivery = changelog entry. Human-readable. Breaking = **BREAKING**:.

4. API Documentation (Per Interface)

### {Module}.{function}
**Purpose**: {one sentence}

**Parameters**:
| Name | Type | Required | Default | Description |

**Returns**: | Type | Description |

**Errors**: | Error | When |

**Example**:
{concrete usage → output}

5. Runbook Template

## Runbook: {scenario}
**Trigger**: {what alert/event triggers this}
**Severity**: {P0/P1/P2}
**Expected Duration**: {minutes}

### Steps
1. {Verify}: {how to confirm the issue}
2. {Diagnose}: {commands to run, logs to check}
3. {Mitigate}: {immediate fix or workaround}
4. {Resolve}: {root cause fix}
5. {Verify resolution}: {how to confirm it's fixed}

### Escalation
{When to escalate and to whom}

6. Data Dictionary Template (for Data/ML projects)

### Table: {schema}.{table}
**Description**: {what this table contains}
**Owner**: {team} | **Refresh**: {frequency}

| Column | Type | Nullable | PII | Description | Example |

7. Inline Documentation Standards

Docstrings: Every public function/class/module. Include purpose, params (type+desc), returns (type+desc), errors, example.

Language conventions: | Language | Format | | Python | Google-style or NumPy docstrings | | JS/TS | JSDoc / TSDoc | | Go | godoc (comment above declaration) | | Rust | /// with markdown | | Java/Kotlin | Javadoc / KDoc | | C/C++ | Doxygen /** */ | | MATLAB | H1 line + help block |

Comments: WHY not WHAT. // Retry because API is eventually consistent good. // increment counter bad.

TODO: // TODO({context}): {description} — {YYYY-MM-DD}

8. Writing Style

• Active voice: "The function returns" (not "is returned").
• Present tense: "handles" (not "will handle").
• Second person for guides: "You can configure..."
• Imperative for steps: "Run the command" (not "You should run").
• Be specific: "Returns null if not found" (not "in some cases").
• One idea per sentence. Short sentences.
• Examples > explanations. Show, don't tell.
• Code examples must actually work when copied.

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Checklist Before Handoff

• README exists with Quick Start.
• All public interfaces have docstrings/doc comments.
• No docs reference deleted/renamed code.
• Examples work when copied and run.
• No placeholder text ("TODO: document this").
• Changelog entry created.
• All links valid.
• Error scenarios documented (not just happy path).
• Technical terms defined on first use.
• Runbooks for operational scenarios (medium+).
• Data dictionary for data/ML projects.

Escalation

• To Backend/Frontend Dev: Code too complex to explain → needs refactoring.
• To System Engineer: Architecture docs outdated.
• To Data Engineer: Data dictionary needs schema details.