Documentation Generation Patterns
Quick Reference (30 seconds)
Purpose: Generate professional documentation using established tools and frameworks.
Core Documentation Tools:
- Python: Sphinx with autodoc, MkDocs with Material theme, pydoc
- TypeScript/JavaScript: TypeDoc, JSDoc, TSDoc
- API Documentation: OpenAPI/Swagger from FastAPI/Express, Redoc, Stoplight
- Static Sites: Nextra (Next.js), Docusaurus (React), VitePress (Vue)
- Universal: Markdown, MDX, reStructuredText
When to Use This Skill:
- Generating API documentation from code annotations
- Building documentation sites with search and navigation
- Creating user guides and technical specifications
- Automating documentation updates in CI/CD pipelines
- Converting between documentation formats
Implementation Guide (5 minutes)
Python Documentation with Sphinx
Sphinx Setup and Configuration:
Install Sphinx and extensions with pip install sphinx sphinx-autodoc-typehints sphinx-rtd-theme myst-parser
Initialize a Sphinx project by running sphinx-quickstart docs which creates the basic structure.
Configure conf.py with the following key settings:
- Set extensions to include autodoc, napoleon, typehints, and myst_parser
- Configure html_theme to sphinx_rtd_theme for a professional look
- Add autodoc_typehints set to description for inline type hints
Generate API documentation by running sphinx-apidoc with the source directory, outputting to docs/api, then run make html in the docs directory.
Python Documentation with MkDocs
MkDocs Material Setup:
Install with pip install mkdocs mkdocs-material mkdocstrings mkdocstrings-python
Create mkdocs.yml configuration:
- Set site_name and site_url
- Configure theme with name material and desired color palette
- Add plugins including search and mkdocstrings
- Define nav structure with sections and pages
Use mkdocstrings syntax in Markdown files with::: module.path to auto-generate API docs from docstrings.
Serve locally with mkdocs serve, build with mkdocs build, deploy with mkdocs gh-deploy.
TypeScript Documentation with TypeDoc
TypeDoc Setup:
Install with npm install typedoc --save-dev
Add to package.json scripts: typedoc --out docs/api src/index.ts
Configure with typedoc.json:
- Set entryPoints to source files
- Configure out to docs/api
- Enable includeVersion and categorizeByGroup
- Set theme to default or install custom themes
Generate documentation by running npm run docs:generate
JavaScript Documentation with JSDoc
JSDoc Setup:
Install with npm install jsdoc --save-dev
Create jsdoc.json configuration:
- Set source include paths and includePattern
- Configure templates and output destination
- Enable markdown plugin for rich formatting
Document functions with JSDoc comments using tags:
- @param for parameters with type and description
- @returns for return value documentation
- @example for usage examples
- @throws for error documentation
OpenAPI/Swagger Documentation
FastAPI Auto-Documentation:
FastAPI provides automatic OpenAPI docs. Access Swagger UI at /docs and ReDoc at /redoc.
Enhance documentation by:
- Adding docstrings to route handlers
- Using response_model for typed responses
- Defining examples in Pydantic model Config class
- Setting tags for endpoint grouping
- Adding detailed descriptions in route decorators
Export OpenAPI spec programmatically with app.openapi() and save to openapi.json.
Express with Swagger:
Install swagger-jsdoc and swagger-ui-express.
Configure swagger-jsdoc with OpenAPI definition and API file paths.
Add @openapi comments to route handlers documenting paths, parameters, and responses.
Serve Swagger UI at /api-docs endpoint.
Static Documentation Sites
Nextra (Next.js):
Reference Skill("moai-library-nextra") for comprehensive Nextra patterns.
Key advantages: MDX support, file-system routing, built-in search, theme customization.
Create with npx create-nextra-app, configure theme.config.tsx, organize pages in pages directory.
Docusaurus (React):
Initialize with npx create-docusaurus@latest my-docs classic
Configure in docusaurus.config.js:
- Set siteMetadata with title, tagline, url
- Configure presets with docs and blog settings
- Add themeConfig for navbar and footer
- Enable search with algolia plugin
Organize documentation in docs folder with category.json files for sidebar structure.
VitePress (Vue):
Initialize with npm init vitepress
Configure in.vitepress/config.js:
- Set title, description, base path
- Define themeConfig with nav and sidebar
- Configure search and social links
Use Markdown with Vue components, code highlighting, and frontmatter.
Advanced Patterns (10+ minutes)
Documentation from SPEC Files
Pattern for generating documentation from MoAI SPEC files:
Read SPEC file content and extract key sections: id, title, description, requirements, api_endpoints.
Generate structured Markdown documentation:
- Create overview section from description
- List requirements as feature bullets
- Document each API endpoint with method, path, and description
- Add usage examples based on endpoint definitions
Save generated docs to appropriate location in docs directory.
CI/CD Documentation Pipeline
GitHub Actions Workflow:
Create.github/workflows/docs.yml that triggers on push to main branch when src or docs paths change.
Workflow steps:
- Checkout repository
- Setup language runtime (Python, Node.js)
- Install documentation dependencies
- Generate documentation using appropriate tool
- Deploy to GitHub Pages, Netlify, or Vercel
Example for Python/Sphinx:
- Install with pip install sphinx sphinx-rtd-theme
- Generate with sphinx-build -b html docs/source docs/build
- Deploy using actions-gh-pages action
Example for TypeScript/TypeDoc:
- Install with npm ci
- Generate with npm run docs:generate
- Deploy to Pages
Documentation Validation
Link Checking:
Use linkchecker for local link validation in HTML output.
For Markdown, use markdown-link-check in pre-commit hooks.
Spell Checking:
Use pyspelling with Aspell for automated spell checking.
Configure.pyspelling.yml with matrix entries for different file types.
Documentation Coverage:
For Python, use interrogate to check docstring coverage.
Configure minimum coverage thresholds in pyproject.toml.
Fail CI builds if coverage drops below threshold.
Multi-Language Documentation
Internationalization with Nextra:
Configure i18n in next.config.js with locales array and defaultLocale.
Create locale-specific pages in pages/[locale] directory.
Use next-intl or similar for translations.
Internationalization with Docusaurus:
Configure i18n in docusaurus.config.js with defaultLocale and locales.
Use docusaurus write-translations to generate translation files.
Organize translations in i18n/[locale] directory structure.
Works Well With
Skills:
- moai-library-nextra - Comprehensive Nextra documentation framework patterns
- moai-lang-python - Python docstring conventions and typing
- moai-lang-typescript - TypeScript/JSDoc documentation patterns
- moai-domain-backend - API documentation for backend services
- moai-workflow-project - Project documentation integration
Agents:
- manager-docs - Documentation workflow orchestration
- expert-backend - API endpoint documentation
- expert-frontend - Component documentation
Commands:
- /moai:3-sync - Documentation synchronization with code changes
Tool Reference
Python Documentation:
- Sphinx: https://www.sphinx-doc.org/
- MkDocs: https://www.mkdocs.org/
- MkDocs Material: https://squidfunk.github.io/mkdocs-material/
- mkdocstrings: https://mkdocstrings.github.io/
JavaScript/TypeScript Documentation:
- TypeDoc: https://typedoc.org/
- JSDoc: https://jsdoc.app/
- TSDoc: https://tsdoc.org/
API Documentation:
- OpenAPI Specification: https://spec.openapis.org/
- Swagger UI: https://swagger.io/tools/swagger-ui/
- Redoc: https://redocly.github.io/redoc/
- Stoplight: https://stoplight.io/
Static Site Generators:
- Nextra: https://nextra.site/
- Docusaurus: https://docusaurus.io/
- VitePress: https://vitepress.dev/
Style Guides:
- Google Developer Documentation Style Guide: https://developers.google.com/style
- Microsoft Writing Style Guide: https://learn.microsoft.com/style-guide/
Version: 2.0.0 Last Updated: 2025-12-30