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@YurunChen/repo-docs-skills

Repo docs skill pack for Claude Code and Codex

Repo-Docs is a skill package that teaches an agent to write and maintain living project docs beside the source. It focuses on walkthroughs, evidence, references, glossary terms, and sync rules so the next run starts from current understanding instead of stale memory.

464 stars6 forksPythonUpdated 2mo ago
Who it's for

Builders who want Claude Code or Codex to keep repository understanding up to date while they work.

What it delivers

You can keep a repo’s guides, handoff notes, and change maps synced to the current code instead of rediscovering context each session.

What it does

Walkthrough-driven docs

Builds a guide around one real run from entry to output instead of a file-tree dump.

Concept and reference pages

Separates durable concepts from source evidence and review notes so each fact has a clear home.

Change log and sync rules

Records meaningful doc updates and tells future agents when the smallest stale page needs a patch.

Validation script

Includes `validate_repo_docs.py` to check doc structure and source links against a repository.

Language overlay

Provides a Chinese skill variant in `skills/repo-docs-zh/`.

How to get it

  1. 1Give this natural-language install request to your coding agent
    Install the repo-docs skill from this project:
    https://github.com/YurunChen/repo-docs-skills
    
    Make both repo-docs and repo-docs-zh available in my agent skill directory.
  2. 2Then ask it to run the skill in any repository
    Use the repo-docs skill to create docs for this repository.
  3. 3Use this when you prefer a shell install. The URL is a GitHub repository raw-file URL;…
    curl -fsSL https://github.com/YurunChen/repo-docs-skills/raw/main/install.sh | bash
  4. 4Windows PowerShell
    irm https://github.com/YurunChen/repo-docs-skills/raw/main/install.ps1 | iex
  5. 5From this source checkout
    ./install.sh
    
    # Install into all known locations: ~/.codex/skills, ~/.claude/skills, ~/.agents/skills
    ./install.sh --agent all
    
    # Install into one explicit skills directory
    ./install.sh --target ~/.agents/skills

README

Repo-Docs logo

Repo-Docs: Keep up with the code your agents write.

An evidence atlas for agent-built code.

Vibe coding makes code move faster than memory. Repo-Docs turns each real run into walkthroughs, concepts, references, and sync rules that live beside the source.

RedNote(小红书) Project homepage

Chinese README | Skill contract | Project homepage | Install

Why now | The loop | Artifacts | Quality bar

Repo-Docs main preview

Understand the repo before you memorize paths.


The Problem

Agent-built repos often feel like this

  • Code changed quickly, but the reason stayed in chat.
  • Files exist, yet no one can explain the real behavior path.
  • README, source, tests, and agent memory drift apart.
  • The next agent starts by rediscovering the same context.

Repo-Docs leaves this behind

  • A walkthrough of one real run from entry to output.
  • Concept pages for the few ideas that actually matter.
  • Evidence pages for source proof and quality review.
  • A sync rule that keeps future answers tied to current source.

Repo-Docs is not a file-tree tour, a generated API dump, or a chat transcript. It is a small project guide that tells a reader what the repo does, how the behavior moves, where the proof lives, and how to keep that understanding fresh.

Why This Exists Now

AI coding is no longer a niche workflow. Two 2026 open-source studies make the scale visible: AIDev reports 932,791 agent-authored pull requests across 116,211 GitHub repositories, while a multi-method census of 180 million repositories shows that many agent traces are missed by single-signal detection.

That growth creates a new maintenance problem: the code may be real, but the project understanding is often temporary. Repo-Docs gives coding agents a repeatable way to preserve the reasoning layer inside the repository itself.

The Repo-Docs Loop

flowchart LR
  A["User asks or agent changes repo"] --> B["Understanding sync check"]
  B --> C["Update README and walkthrough"]
  B --> D["Update change-log"]
  B --> E["Patch modules / glossary / references"]
  B --> F["Update AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md"]
  C --> G["User can read the current project"]
  D --> G
  E --> G
  F --> G

The loop is intentionally conservative. A good update touches the page that would otherwise mislead the next reader, not every page that could be polished.

What It Builds

ArtifactJob
repo-docs/README.mdOrient the reader and point to the first useful path.
walkthroughs/one-real-run.mdFollow one real behavior from observable entry to output.
code-map.mdMap in-scope source directories to responsibilities, important code, tests, and likely change points.
modules/Explain durable concepts the walkthrough names.
references/Hold source evidence and optional quality review.
glossary.mdTranslate repeated project terms into plain meaning.
change-log.mdRecord meaningful guide work, verification, and sync anchors.
AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.mdTell future coding agents when and how to keep docs current.

Install In 30 Seconds

Give this natural-language install request to your coding agent:

Install the repo-docs skill from this project:
https://github.com/YurunChen/repo-docs-skills

Make both repo-docs and repo-docs-zh available in my agent skill directory.

Then ask it to run the skill in any repository:

Use the repo-docs skill to create docs for this repository.
Command-line install

Use this when you prefer a shell install. The URL is a GitHub repository raw-file URL; GitHub serves the raw script bytes through its raw content host after redirect.

curl -fsSL https://github.com/YurunChen/repo-docs-skills/raw/main/install.sh | bash

Windows PowerShell:

irm https://github.com/YurunChen/repo-docs-skills/raw/main/install.ps1 | iex

From this source checkout:

./install.sh

# Install into all known locations: ~/.codex/skills, ~/.claude/skills, ~/.agents/skills
./install.sh --agent all

# Install into one explicit skills directory
./install.sh --target ~/.agents/skills

Use It Naturally

Use the repo-docs skill to create docs for this repository.
Use repo-docs-zh to create a Chinese repo guide for this project.
Explain how this subsystem works using repo-docs and the current source.

Modes

ModeUse whenWhat it preserves
SeedThe repo is new or has little runtime evidenceGoals, decisions, planned work, and unknowns
BuildThe repo needs its first guideWalkthrough, concepts, references, glossary, and sync rule
SyncA repo question or guide-covered behavior may make docs staleThe smallest page that would otherwise mislead
CleanupThe user asks to remove generated docsDocs package and stale root-agent pointers
Question refinementA question exposes a wrong reader modelThe corrected page, then an answer linked to it

Validation

python skills/repo-docs/scripts/validate_repo_docs.py /path/to/repo-docs --repo-root /path/to/repo

Use --lite for small projects and --seed for repositories that still need status-labeled plans instead of implementation claims. --repo-root checks source locators and post-anchor drift.

Quality Bar

A good Repo-Docs package is useful after the chat ends.

PrincipleMeaning
Behavior before inventoryTeach one real workflow before listing files.
Reader handles before locatorsExplain the concept, then link to the exact path, function, field, or command.
One durable fact, one homeConcepts and needed details live in modules; evidence and quality audit live in references; history lives in the change log.
Evidence stays visibleCurrent source, tests, config, data, commands, and artifacts outrank memory or stale docs.
Patches stay surgicalWhen understanding drifts, update the smallest page that fixes the reader model.

Source Layout

repo-docs-skills/
├── skills/
│   ├── repo-docs/        # installable skill package
│   └── repo-docs-zh/     # Chinese language overlay
├── site/                 # homepage source
├── docs/                 # GitHub Pages publish tree
├── install.sh
├── install.ps1
├── README.md
└── README_CN.md

The installable skill source lives under skills/. The site/ directory is homepage source, while docs/ is the GitHub Pages publish tree.

Installed Package Contents

<skills-dir>/
├── repo-docs/
│   ├── SKILL.md
│   ├── REFERENCE.md
│   ├── WRITING.md
│   ├── PAGE_RULES.md
│   ├── SCOPE_MODES.md
│   ├── SYNC_RULES.md
│   ├── QUALITY_RULES.md
│   ├── EXAMPLES.md
│   ├── validate_repo_docs.py
│   └── scripts/
│       └── validate_repo_docs.py
└── repo-docs-zh/
    └── SKILL.md

Acknowledgements

Repo Docs Skills is developed by the AI4GC Lab at Zhejiang University.


Repo-Docs: make the repository explain itself.
Walkthroughs, evidence, references, sync rules, and project memory for fast-moving code.

visitors

Files in the repo

Repository payload9 top-level entries
  • docs
  • site
  • skills
  • .gitignore
  • AGENTS.md
  • install.ps1
  • install.sh
  • README_CN.md
  • README.md

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