documentation-discovery

name	documentation-discovery
description	Essential guidelines instructing AI agents on how to incrementally discover, read, and consult top-level monorepo documentation and example-specific reference guides before altering code or executing test harnesses.

Matter SDK Incremental Documentation Discovery Skill

Operational Philosophy

The Matter SDK is an extensive, multi-layered repository. AI assistants and contributors must avoid making implicit assumptions or guessing architectural patterns. Instead, adopt an Incremental Documentation Discovery approach for every task.

Discovery Workflow

Level 1: Monorepo Root Documentation

When investigating high-level SDK workflows, core specification rules, or repository-wide testing schemas, always start by consulting the top-level documentation sheets located in the monorepo root:

• docs/: Umbrella directory housing authoritative architectural overviews, API preferences, and Interaction Model specification guides.
• ARCHITECTURE.md: High-level structural overview of current monorepo operational layers.

Level 2: Example-Specific Reference Guides

Whenever a task directs you to analyze, debug, extend, or operate on a concrete example application (e.g., examples/all-devices-app, examples/chip-tool, examples/lighting-app), do not rely solely on generic root guides. Individual example applications maintain their own customized landing documentation detailing custom CLI parameters, dynamic runtime composition models, and operational test harnesses.

Before generating code, adding classes, or running test suites in an example application, you MUST consult that application's landing README.md or its dedicated docs/ subdirectory.

Prime Blueprint Example: all-devices-app

To demonstrate this incremental discovery protocol in practice, when working with examples/all-devices-app/, agents must proactively read its dedicated reference suite:

1. examples/all-devices-app/docs/architecture.md: Demonstrates the Code-Driven Data Model structure, explicit C++ DeviceInterface lifecycle registration (Register/Unregister), and explicit node teardown rules.
2. examples/all-devices-app/docs/starting_up.md: Outlines dynamic Interaction Model startup via CLI (--device), runtime node commissioning arguments, and network setup variables.
3. examples/all-devices-app/docs/adding_new_device.md: End-to-end tutorial on implementing a new simulated Matter device, deriving from SingleEndpointDevice, constructor dependency injection, DeviceFactory registration, and updating targets.py golden snapshots.
4. examples/all-devices-app/docs/testing.md: Factual verification methodologies demonstrating interactive commissioning via chip-tool, automated Python CI harnesses (local.py), and standalone test runners (run_python_test.py).
5. examples/all-devices-app/docs/custom_product_baseline.md: Transitioning from the dynamic runtime simulator to a fixed, static production firmware blueprint, optimizing RAM/Flash usage, and direct C++ member object instantiation.

Strict Agent Invariants

• Never Alter Code Blindly: Always verify example-specific documentation to match prevailing patterns before writing code.
• Canonical Output Paths: When running compilation blocks or executing binaries discovered in documentation, ensure all commands reference canonical ./out/ output directories.