docs-sync-checker

Documentation Sync Checker Skill

Deterministic 4-phase drift detector that compares the filesystem against README entries. Each phase (Scan, Cross-Reference, Detect, Report) has a gate that must pass before proceeding. The skill produces a sync score (percentage of tools properly documented) and actionable fix suggestions for every detected issue.

This skill checks documentation presence and absence only -- it does not judge description quality, generate documentation content, resolve merge conflicts, validate cross-references, or track when drift occurred. Suggested fixes use YAML descriptions verbatim; content generation and quality assessment require different skills.

Optional flags: --auto-fix (experimental, requires explicit opt-in), --strict (exit code 1 on issues), --format json (machine-readable output for CI/CD).

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Reference Loading Table

| Signal | Load These Files | Why |

|---|---|---|

| documentation work | documentation-structure.md | Loads detailed guidance from documentation-structure.md. |

| before/after doc-update examples: adding skill docs, removing deprecated agent docs | examples.md | Loads detailed guidance from examples.md. |

| wiring the checker into CI, pre-commit, or auto-fix mode | integration-guide.md | Loads detailed guidance from integration-guide.md. |

| expected table and list formats per README file | markdown-formats.md | Loads detailed guidance from markdown-formats.md. |

| which docs must list which tools; sync score and deprecation rules | sync-rules.md | Loads detailed guidance from sync-rules.md. |

Instructions

Phase 1: SCAN

Goal: Discover all skills, agents, and commands in the repository filesystem. All discovery (file existence checks, YAML parsing, markdown extraction) must be deterministic -- no AI judgment on content quality.

Step 1: Run the scan script

python3 skills/meta/docs-sync-checker/scripts/scan_tools.py --repo-root $HOME/vexjoy-agent

Step 2: Validate discovery results

For each tool type, verify:

Skills (skills/**/SKILL.md):

• File has opening --- and closing --- YAML delimiters
• YAML contains non-empty name and description fields
• name field matches directory name (e.g., skills/code-quality/code-linting/ has name: code-linting)

Agents (agents/*.md):

• File has valid YAML frontmatter with name field
• Filename (without .md) matches YAML name value

Commands (commands/**/*.md):

• File exists as markdown in commands/ directory
• Namespaced commands in subdirectories (e.g., commands/code/cleanup.md) are detected

Step 3: Validate the docs routing catalog

Every docs/*.md file (outside archive/ and images/) carries frontmatter with summary and read_when — the on-demand load triggers for docs, matching what skills/INDEX.json gives skills.

python3 scripts/docs-catalog.py --check

Exit 1 means a doc is missing frontmatter; add summary and read_when to that file. python3 scripts/docs-catalog.py (no flags) prints the catalog table; --json emits it machine-readable.

Step 4: Count and verify

## Scan Results
Skills found: [N]
Agents found: [N]
Commands found: [N]
YAML errors: [N] (must be 0 to proceed)

Gate: All tools discovered, all YAML valid, counts >0 for each type, docs catalog check exits 0. Proceed only after the gate passes.

Phase 2: CROSS-REFERENCE

Goal: Extract documented tools from README files and compare with discovered tools. Each tool type has a primary documentation file: skills belong in docs/skills.md, agents in agents/README.md, commands in commands/README.md.

Step 1: Run the documentation parser

python3 skills/meta/docs-sync-checker/scripts/parse_docs.py --repo-root $HOME/vexjoy-agent --scan-results /tmp/scan_results.json

Step 2: Parse each documentation file

These are the five documentation files to check -- no others:

| File | Format | What to Extract |

|------|--------|-----------------|

| docs/skills.md | Markdown table | Name, Description, Command, Hook columns |

| agents/README.md | Table or list | Name, Description fields |

| commands/README.md | Markdown list | /command-name - Description items |

| README.md | Inline references | Pattern-match skill: X, /command, agent-name |

| docs/REFERENCE.md | Section headers | ### tool-name headers with descriptions |

Step 3: Build documented-tools registry

For each documentation file, collect the set of tool names found. This creates a mapping of {file -> [tool_names]} that Phase 3 will compare against the filesystem scan.

Step 4: Verify parse completeness

• All 5 documentation files found and parsed (warn if any missing)
• No parse errors on table/list structures
• Tool names extracted from each file

Gate: All documentation files parsed without errors. Proceed only after the gate passes.

Phase 3: DETECT

Goal: Compare discovered tools with documented tools to identify drift. This is a point-in-time snapshot -- it cannot tell you when drift occurred, only that it exists now.

Step 1: Compute set differences

For each tool type and its primary documentation file:

• missing = filesystem_tools - documented_tools (tools that exist but are not documented)
• stale = documented_tools - filesystem_tools (documented tools that no longer exist -- users waste time trying to invoke non-existent tools, so always flag these)

Step 2: Categorize and assign severity

Severity reflects user impact: missing entries mean tools are undiscoverable and stale entries waste time.

| Category | Condition | Severity |

|----------|-----------|----------|

| Missing Entry | Tool in filesystem, not in primary README | HIGH |

| Stale Entry | Tool in README, not in filesystem | MEDIUM |

| Incomplete Entry | Documentation missing required fields | LOW |

Step 3: Record issue details

For each issue, capture: tool type, tool name, tool path, affected documentation file(s), severity, and suggested fix action.

Gate: All issues categorized with severity. Proceed only after the gate passes.

Phase 4: REPORT

Goal: Generate human-readable report with actionable fix suggestions. Report facts concisely -- show data, not self-congratulatory descriptions. Target 100% sync score; even one missing entry erodes trust in all documentation.

Step 1: Run the report generator

python3 skills/meta/docs-sync-checker/scripts/generate_report.py --issues /tmp/issues.json --output /tmp/sync-report.md

Step 2: Verify report structure

Report must include these sections:

1. Summary -- Total tools, issue counts by severity, sync score

   sync_score = (total_tools - total_issues) / total_tools * 100

1. HIGH Priority: Missing Entries -- For each missing tool, provide the exact markdown row/item to add to the appropriate README file

1. MEDIUM Priority: Stale Entries -- For each stale tool, identify the file and line to remove

1. Files Checked -- List each documentation file with count of tools parsed from it

Step 3: Validate actionability

Every issue in the report must have a concrete suggested fix. No issue should say "review manually" without specifying what to review and where. The fix should enable a single-commit resolution -- tool files and documentation entries should be added/removed together.

Step 4: Report format for missing entries

For each missing skill, generate a suggested table row:

| skill-name | Description from YAML | `skill: skill-name` | - |

For each missing agent, generate a suggested table row:

| agent-name | Description from YAML |

For each missing command, generate a suggested list item:

- `/command-name` - Description from command file

Step 5: Cleanup

Remove any helper scripts and debug outputs created during execution.

Gate: Report generated with actionable suggestions for every issue.

Examples

Example 1: New Skill Missing from README

User created skills/my-new-skill/SKILL.md but forgot to update docs/skills.md.

Actions:

1. SCAN discovers my-new-skill in filesystem
2. CROSS-REFERENCE parses docs/skills.md, does not find my-new-skill
3. DETECT flags as HIGH severity missing entry
4. REPORT suggests exact table row to add to docs/skills.md

Example 2: Removed Agent Still Documented

User deleted agents/old-agent.md but agents/README.md still lists it.

Actions:

1. SCAN does not find old-agent in filesystem
2. CROSS-REFERENCE finds old-agent in agents/README.md
3. DETECT flags as MEDIUM severity stale entry
4. REPORT suggests removing the row from agents/README.md

Example 3: Batch Changes After Refactor

User created 3 new skills and deleted 2 old ones in a refactoring PR.

Actions:

1. SCAN discovers 3 new skills in filesystem, does not find 2 removed skills
2. CROSS-REFERENCE finds 2 stale entries and 3 absent entries in docs/skills.md
3. DETECT flags 3 HIGH (missing) + 2 MEDIUM (stale) issues
4. REPORT provides exact table rows to add and identifies rows to remove

Error Handling

Error: "YAML Parse Error"

Cause: Invalid frontmatter -- missing --- delimiters, tabs instead of spaces, or missing required fields

Solution:

1. Check file has opening --- on line 1 and closing --- after YAML block
2. Verify no tab characters in YAML (spaces only)
3. Confirm required fields present: name, description
4. Validate manually: head -20 {file_path} and check syntax

Error: "Documentation File Not Found"

Cause: Expected README file does not exist at expected path

Solution:

1. Verify --repo-root path is correct
2. Check that docs/skills.md, agents/README.md, commands/README.md exist
3. If file is legitimately missing, create a placeholder with the expected table/list header
4. Re-run scan after creating placeholder

Error: "No Tools Discovered"

Cause: Wrong --repo-root path, empty directories, or no SKILL.md files

Solution:

1. Verify the repo root path points to the correct repository
2. Confirm skills/, agents/, commands/ directories exist and are not empty
3. Check that skill directories contain SKILL.md (not just other files)
4. Run with --debug flag for verbose discovery output

Error: "Markdown Parse Error"

Cause: Table missing separator row, mismatched column counts, or malformed list items

Solution:

1. Check table has header row, separator row (|---|---|), and data rows
2. Verify all rows have the same number of pipe-delimited columns
3. For lists, verify consistent format: - /command - Description
4. See references/markdown-formats.md for complete format specifications

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References

• ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/documentation-structure.md: Documentation file matrix, required fields per location, cross-reference requirements
• ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/markdown-formats.md: Expected table/list formats for each README file, parsing rules, common formatting errors
• ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/sync-rules.md: Synchronization rules, severity levels, deprecation handling, namespace rules
• ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/examples.md: Before/after examples for adding, removing, updating, and batch documentation changes
• ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/integration-guide.md: CI/CD setup, pre-commit hooks, auto-fix mode, JSON output, workflow integration