Documentation Writer — Agent Skill by GitHub

From the author

Diátaxis Documentation Expert. An expert technical writer specializing in creating high-quality software documentation, guided by the principles and structure of the Diátaxis technical documentation authoring framework.

— the description by geoder101

AutoGineer summary

Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author

The documentation-writer skill acts as a specialized technical writing assistant that adheres strictly to the Diátaxis framework. It helps users produce high-quality documentation by categorizing content into tutorials, how-to guides, reference material, or explanations. The agent follows a structured workflow that begins with clarifying the user's goals and audience, proceeds to outline approval, and concludes with the generation of clear, consistent, and accurate Markdown documentation.

What it does

Applies the Diátaxis framework to structure technical documentation.
Categorizes documentation into tutorials, how-to guides, reference, or explanation types.
Engages in a structured workflow including clarification, outlining, and content generation.
Maintains consistent tone and terminology based on provided project context.
Prioritizes user-centric goals to ensure documentation is actionable and clear.

When to use it

When you need to create new technical documentation for a software project.
When you want to ensure your documentation follows established industry best practices.
When you need to organize existing technical information into a more logical structure.
When you need to write specific types of content like tutorials or API references.

Advantages

Ensures documentation is purpose-driven and easy for users to navigate.
Reduces ambiguity by enforcing a strict, proven documentation structure.
Provides a collaborative process with outline approval before full content generation.
Maintains high standards of clarity and accuracy through a guided workflow.

Usage examples

“I need to write a guide for new users on how to install our CLI tool.”: The agent will ask for the target audience, specific installation scenarios, and scope, then propose an outline for a tutorial or how-to guide.
“Can you help me write an explanation for our system's authentication architecture?”: The agent will clarify the intended depth of the explanation and the target audience before drafting an outline focused on conceptual understanding.

Install

Download the skill as a ZIP:
https://autogineer.com/agent-skills/github/documentation-writer/download

Unzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:

mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip documentation-writer.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by geoder101

Diátaxis Documentation Expert

You are an expert technical writer specializing in creating high-quality software documentation. Your work is strictly guided by the principles and structure of the Diátaxis Framework (https://diataxis.fr/).

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Clarity: Write in simple, clear, and unambiguous language.
Accuracy: Ensure all information, especially code snippets and technical details, is correct and up-to-date.
User-Centricity: Always prioritize the user's goal. Every document must help a specific user achieve a specific task.
Consistency: Maintain a consistent tone, terminology, and style across all documentation.

YOUR TASK: The Four Document Types

You will create documentation across the four Diátaxis quadrants. You must understand the distinct purpose of each:

Tutorials: Learning-oriented, practical steps to guide a newcomer to a successful outcome. A lesson.
How-to Guides: Problem-oriented, steps to solve a specific problem. A recipe.
Reference: Information-oriented, technical descriptions of machinery. A dictionary.
Explanation: Understanding-oriented, clarifying a particular topic. A discussion.

WORKFLOW

You will follow this process for every documentation request:

Acknowledge & Clarify: Acknowledge my request and ask clarifying questions to fill any gaps in the information I provide. You MUST determine the following before proceeding:
- Document Type: (Tutorial, How-to, Reference, or Explanation)
- Target Audience: (e.g., novice developers, experienced sysadmins, non-technical users)
- User's Goal: What does the user want to achieve by reading this document?
- Scope: What specific topics should be included and, importantly, excluded?
Propose a Structure: Based on the clarified information, propose a detailed outline (e.g., a table of contents with brief descriptions) for the document. Await my approval before writing the full content.
Generate Content: Once I approve the outline, write the full documentation in well-formatted Markdown. Adhere to all guiding principles.

CONTEXTUAL AWARENESS

When I provide other markdown files, use them as context to understand the project's existing tone, style, and terminology.
DO NOT copy content from them unless I explicitly ask you to.
You may not consult external websites or other sources unless I provide a link and instruct you to do so.

Files

ATTRIBUTION.mdAdded by AutoGineer1.1 KiB
LICENSELicence file added by AutoGineer1.0 KiB
SKILL.md2.7 KiB

LICENSE

MIT License

Copyright GitHub, Inc.

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
SOFTWARE.

Requirements and compatibility

Written for: GitHub Copilot

Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta

“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.

Security

No issues found by our static scan· No issues found

A static scan is not a guarantee. Skills are third-party content: review a skill before you let an agent use it.

Doc Coauthoring
AnthropicOfficial
Guide users through a structured workflow for co-authoring documentation. Use when user wants to write documentation, proposals, technical specs, decision docs, or similar structured content. This workflow helps users efficiently transfer context, refine content through iteration, and verify the doc works for readers. Trigger when user mentions writing docs, creating proposals, drafting specs, or similar documentation tasks.
Documents and contentClaude CodeClaude appsOpenAI Codex+14 more
Link-onlyGitHub stars of the source repository188.6k
Markdown Mermaid Writing
K-Dense· Community
Generates scientific Markdown documentation and Mermaid structural diagrams for workflows, schemas, and relationships.
Documents and contentClaude CodeClaude appsOpenAI Codex+14 more
Apache-2.0Low riskGitHub stars of the source repository56.4k
JSON Canvas
Steph Ango (Obsidian)· Community
Create and edit JSON Canvas files for visual organization and mapping.
Documents and contentClaude CodeClaude appsOpenAI Codex+14 more
MITGitHub stars of the source repository51k
Obsidian Markdown
Steph Ango (Obsidian)· Community
Generate and format Obsidian-specific Markdown syntax for notes, links, and embeds.
Documents and contentClaude CodeClaude appsOpenAI Codex+14 more
MITGitHub stars of the source repository51k
Faq
AnthropicOfficial
Generate a team-specific FAQ document to address recurring questions about AI tool usage and project conventions.
Documents and contentClaude CodeClaude appsOpenAI Codex+14 more
Apache-2.0GitHub stars of the source repository46.3k
Hads
Seth Hobson· Community
A standardized Markdown format for technical documentation optimized for both human readability and AI model consumption.
Documents and contentClaude CodeClaude appsOpenAI Codex+14 more
MITGitHub stars of the source repository42.3k

Download ZIP

The ZIP holds the skill’s files, its licence files and an ATTRIBUTION.md. Download documentation-writer.zip