CLI Documentation Maintainer

Ensure AILANG CLI help system (

ailang --help

) remains the authoritative, accurate, and complete source of truth for all CLI features. Critical for AI discoverability in external repositories where CLAUDE.md isn't available.

Quick Start

Most common usage:

# User says: "I added a new command, update the help"
# This skill will:
# 1. Audit help.go against main.go for missing commands
# 2. Check environment variables usage
# 3. Suggest improvements to help text
# 4. Validate all documented features exist
# 5. Update help.go with new content

When to Use This Skill

Invoke this skill when:

• Adding new commands to cmd/ailang/main.go
• Adding new environment variables (DEBUG_, AILANG_, etc.)
• Updating command behavior or flags
• Auditing CLI documentation for accuracy
• Improving CLI discoverability for AIs
• After adding new features (ensure they're documented)
• Quarterly CLI documentation review
• Proactively: After implementing any user-facing CLI change

Available Scripts

scripts/audit_commands.sh

Compare commands in main.go against help.go to find undocumented commands.

Usage:

scripts/audit_commands.sh

Output:

• Lists all commands in main.go
• Highlights commands missing from help.go
• Shows commands in help.go that don't exist in main.go (stale)
• Exit code 0 if synchronized, 1 if discrepancies found

scripts/audit_env_vars.sh

Find environment variables used in codebase and compare against help.go documentation.

Usage:

scripts/audit_env_vars.sh

Output:

• Lists all DEBUG_* and AILANG_* variables found in internal/
• Shows which are documented in help.go
• Highlights undocumented variables
• Flags documented variables that don't exist in code (stale)
• Exit code 0 if synchronized, 1 if discrepancies found

scripts/suggest_improvements.sh

Analyze help text organization and suggest improvements.

Usage:

scripts/suggest_improvements.sh

Output:

• Checks help text length (should be scannable)
• Verifies examples are present
• Suggests missing categories or groupings
• Recommends cross-references between related commands
• Flags verbose or unclear descriptions

Workflow

1. Audit Phase

Run audit scripts to identify discrepancies:

# Check commands
.claude/skills/cli-doc-maintainer/scripts/audit_commands.sh

# Check environment variables
.claude/skills/cli-doc-maintainer/scripts/audit_env_vars.sh

2. Analysis Phase

For each discrepancy found:

• Missing command: Add to appropriate category in help.go
• Missing env var: Document with clear purpose and example
• Stale documentation: Remove or update
• New feature: Add examples showing usage

3. Update Phase

Update cmd/ailang/help.go:

• Add new commands in correct category
• Document new flags/subcommands
• Add environment variables with examples
• Include practical usage examples
• Maintain consistent formatting

4. Validation Phase

# Rebuild binary
make quick-install

# Test help output
ailang --help

# Test specific command help
ailang <command> --help

# Verify examples work
# (copy examples from help and test them)

5. Documentation Phase

Update supporting documentation:

• CHANGELOG.md - Document CLI changes
• This skill's reference.md - Update best practices if needed
• Website docs (docs/docs/) - Mirror critical CLI info

Resources

CLI Documentation Best Practices

See resources/best_practices.md for:

• Formatting conventions
• Category organization
• Example writing guidelines
• Environment variable naming conventions

Help Text Template

See resources/help_template.md for:

• Command entry templates
• Category section templates
• Environment variable documentation template
• Example section templates

Progressive Disclosure

This skill loads information progressively:

1. Always loaded: This SKILL.md file (YAML frontmatter + workflow overview)
2. Execute as needed: Scripts in

   scripts/

   (audit, validate)
3. Load on demand:

   resources/best_practices.md

   ,

   resources/help_template.md

Design Principles

1. CLI as Source of Truth: Help text is THE authoritative reference
2. AI-First: Optimize for discoverability by AIs in external repos
3. Progressive Disclosure: Main help scannable, detailed help via subcommands
4. Practical Examples: Every major command has a working example
5. Accurate: Zero stale documentation - audit regularly

Notes

• Run audits after every CLI change (make it a habit)
• Environment variables must be used in code before documenting
• Commands must exist in main.go before adding to help.go
• Keep main help.go under 250 lines (currently ~220)
• Per-command help (e.g.,

  coordinator --help

  ) can be longer
• Test examples actually work before documenting them