> **documentation** — skill 35 of 200 in [anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins](https://skillsdocs.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins).
>
> Book (all skills, one file): https://skillsdocs.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins.md
> Machine manifest: https://skillsdocs.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json
> Install the book: `npx skills add anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins`
> Upstream: https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins/blob/main/engineering/skills/documentation/SKILL.md @ `main`
> Raw bytes, no header: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins/main/engineering/skills/documentation/SKILL.md
> Base for relative paths: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins/main/engineering/skills/documentation/
> Licence: Apache-2.0 — https://spdx.org/licenses/Apache-2.0.html
>
> Content © its authors, served unmodified. Takedown: https://github.com/DreambaseAI/skillsdocs/issues/new?labels=takedown&title=Takedown+request

<!-- Verbatim upstream SKILL.md follows, YAML frontmatter included. -->

---
name: documentation
description: Write and maintain technical documentation. Trigger with "write docs for", "document this", "create a README", "write a runbook", "onboarding guide", or when the user needs help with any form of technical writing — API docs, architecture docs, or operational runbooks.
---

# Technical Documentation

Write clear, maintainable technical documentation for different audiences and purposes.

## Document Types

### README
- What this is and why it exists
- Quick start (< 5 minutes to first success)
- Configuration and usage
- Contributing guide

### API Documentation
- Endpoint reference with request/response examples
- Authentication and error codes
- Rate limits and pagination
- SDK examples

### Runbook
- When to use this runbook
- Prerequisites and access needed
- Step-by-step procedure
- Rollback steps
- Escalation path

### Architecture Doc
- Context and goals
- High-level design with diagrams
- Key decisions and trade-offs
- Data flow and integration points

### Onboarding Guide
- Environment setup
- Key systems and how they connect
- Common tasks with walkthroughs
- Who to ask for what

## Principles

1. **Write for the reader** — Who is reading this and what do they need?
2. **Start with the most useful information** — Don't bury the lede
3. **Show, don't tell** — Code examples, commands, screenshots
4. **Keep it current** — Outdated docs are worse than no docs
5. **Link, don't duplicate** — Reference other docs instead of copying