Documentation Check Skill

Review code changes and determine if documentation updates or new documentation is needed. This skill decides whether a change needs docs; its counterpart, the write-docs skill, covers writing them.

[!IMPORTANT] The canonical rules for what belongs in the Coder docs (and what doesn't) live in docs/.style/content-guidelines.md. Read that first. When this skill conflicts with the content guidelines, the content guidelines govern.

Workflow

1. Get the code changes. Use the method provided in the prompt, or if none specified:

   • For a PR: gh pr diff <PR_NUMBER> --repo coder/coder
   • For local changes: git diff main or git diff --staged
   • For a branch: git diff main...<branch>

2. Triage the diff. Walk the quick decision checklist in the content guidelines. Most non-user-facing diffs route out of the docs entirely; see What not to comment on.

3. Understand the scope. Consider what changed:

   • Is this user-facing or internal?
   • Does it change behavior, APIs, CLI flags, or configuration?
   • Even for "internal" or "chore" changes, always verify the actual diff.

4. Search the docs. Find related content in docs/.

5. Decide what's needed. Consider:

   • Do existing docs need updates to match the code?
   • Is new documentation needed for undocumented features?
   • Or is everything already covered?

6. Report findings. Use the method provided in the prompt, or if none specified, summarize findings directly.

What to Check

• Accuracy: Does documentation match current code behavior?
• Completeness: Are new features or options documented?
• Examples: Do code examples still work?
• CLI/API changes: Are new flags, endpoints, or options documented?
• Configuration: Are new environment variables or settings documented?
• Breaking changes: Are migration steps documented if needed?
• Premium features: See Premium feature signaling below.
• Renames or moves: See Renames and moves require redirects below.

What not to comment on

Do not produce sticky-comment suggestions for these classes of change. They have no user-visible documentation surface.

• Auto-generated CLI docs under docs/reference/cli/. These are generated from Go code under cli/; suggest edits to the CLI definitions instead.
• Internal-only refactors with no user-visible behavior change.
• Test-only changes (new tests, refactored tests, fixtures).
• CI, release, or tooling commits that don't change user-facing surfaces. This includes workflow YAML, Makefile internals, formatter configs, and lint configs.
• Dependency bumps without behavior changes.
• Pure code reorganizations (moves, renames, package restructuring with no API or behavior change).
• Features guarded by an unsafe experiment flag. Features behind an unsafe experiment are not designed for users yet and may be reverted. See Experiments versus feature stages in the content guidelines for the experiment-vs-stage distinction. A safe experiment or an Early Access feature does need at least a single-page doc, so don't apply this rule to those.

If a diff is a mix of one of the above with a user-facing change, comment only on the user-facing portion.

Key Documentation Info

• docs/manifest.json is the navigation structure; new pages MUST be added here.
• docs/reference/cli/*.md is auto-generated from Go code. Don't edit directly.
• docs/.style/content-guidelines.md is the canonical source for what belongs in the docs.

Premium feature signaling

A page documenting a Premium feature requires both of the following. Missing either one is a defect:

1. The H1 title takes a (Premium) suffix. Example: # Template Insights (Premium).
2. The page's docs/manifest.json entry includes "state": ["premium"].

No emdash, endash, or -- as punctuation

This applies in docs prose, code blocks, comments, and string literals. Use commas, semicolons, or periods, or restructure the sentence. For numeric ranges, use a plain hyphen (e.g., 0-100). The rule is enforced by make lint/emdash, but the doc-check skill should also flag violations it generates or suggests.

Renames and moves require redirects

Redirects for coder.com/docs are configured in a separate repo, not in this one. When a doc page is renamed or moved:

1. Update every link that relies on the old location.
2. Add an entry to coder/coder.com:redirects.json that maps the old path to the new one. Open that PR alongside the coder/coder rename PR.

Do not create a docs/_redirects file in this repo; that format isn't processed by coder.com.

Coder-specific patterns

Callouts

Use GitHub-Flavored Markdown alerts:

> [!NOTE]
> Additional helpful information.

> [!WARNING]
> Important warning about potential issues.

> [!TIP]
> Helpful tip for users.

CLI Documentation

CLI docs in docs/reference/cli/ are auto-generated. Don't suggest editing them directly. Changes should be made in the Go code that defines the CLI commands (typically the cli/ directory).

Code Examples

Use sh for shell commands:

coder server --flag-name value