Documentation
Create clear, maintainable technical documentation that serves your audience.
Key Principles
- Documentation as code — docs live with code, version with code, review with code
- Audience-first writing — write for who's reading, not what you know
- Maintainability over completeness — inaccurate docs are worse than no docs
- Link to source of truth — don't duplicate information across docs
Quick Start Checklist
- Identify documentation type (README, API docs, ADR, user guide)
- Determine audience (all users, developers, team, contributors)
- Follow type-specific template from references
- Include working examples (test them!)
- Link to related documentation
Documentation Types
| Type | When to Use | Audience | |------|-------------|----------| | README | Project entry point | All users | | API Docs | Endpoint reference | Developers | | ADR | Major decisions | Team/future devs | | User Guide | Task completion | End users |
References
| Reference | Description | |-----------|-------------| | readme-guide.md | README templates, section patterns, badges | | api-docs.md | API documentation patterns, OpenAPI integration | | adr-guide.md | Architecture Decision Record format and workflow | | diagrams.md | Mermaid diagram patterns for common scenarios | | readme-template.md | Template for project README files | | adr-template.md | Template for Architecture Decision Records |