Documentation Manager

Helps decide where to document things and maintain consistency across Pynchy docs.

Style Guide

• Write for a user trying to achieve a goal. Don't chronicle the evolution of the codebase. Don't go into unnecessary technical details that are not relevant to the user's goal.
• Follow the Google Style Guide. Write in the present tense. Don't use "we" or "they". Write in the active voice. Don't use "is" or "are".
• Read docs/contributing/contributing-docs.md for the full documentation philosophy and information architecture rules.

Where to Document What

Quick decision tree:

New feature?

• Architecture decision → docs/architecture/ (find the relevant topic file, or create a new one)
• Installation requirement → docs/install.md
• Security implication → docs/architecture/security.md
• Development workflow change → .claude/skills/pynchy-dev/SKILL.md

Bug fix?

• If it needs install change → docs/install.md
• Usually: No doc update needed

Refactoring?

• If user-visible → Update relevant docs
• If internal only → No doc update

File Purposes

Information Architecture Rules

1. Single source of truth — Every concept explained in exactly one place. Cross-link, don't duplicate.
2. Tree-shaped navigation — Root files have links + short summaries. Leaf files have the actual content.
3. Small, focused files — One topic per file. If it covers multiple concerns, split it.

Validation

Before committing:

# Check for broken links
uv run mkdocs build --strict

After moving/renaming files:

1. Search for all references to old name
2. Update each reference
3. Update mkdocs.yml nav
4. Test with uv run mkdocs build --strict

Common Mistakes

• Duplicating content across files (link instead)
• Chronological explanations ("First we tried X...")
• Mixing audiences (keep README brief, details in docs/)
• Forgetting to update references after renames
• Writing mega-files that cover multiple topics

Link Checking

Link validation runs automatically in pre-commit hooks. If docs have broken links, the commit will fail.

To manually check: uv run mkdocs build --strict