Individual skill
diataxis
Use whenever writing, editing, restructuring, or reviewing technical documentation — READMEs, API docs, guides, tutorials, reference, onboarding, or developer docs of any kind — to apply the Diátaxis framework, which splits content into four modes (tutorials, how-to guides, reference, explanation) that each serve a distinct user need. Trigger even when the user just says "write docs", "document this", "improve the README", or "our docs are confusing" without naming Diátaxis or documentation types. Use it to decide WHAT KIND of doc to write (via the compass), to diagnose docs that feel bloated, mix instruction with reference, or leave users unable to get started or find facts, and to improve docs in small safe iterations. Especially when you are unsure whether something belongs in a tutorial vs how-to vs reference vs explanation, or when one page is trying to do all four at once.
skills/.experimental/diataxis/SKILL.md
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- Last checked
- Nov 5, 2026
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- Aug 15, 2026
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SKILL.mdcore · 8,241 bytesassets/templates/report.mddoc · 2,553 bytesconfig.jsonasset · 901 bytesgotchas.mddoc · 3,325 bytesmetadata.jsonasset · 1,327 bytesreferences/compass-tree.mddoc · 3,250 bytesreferences/explanation.mddoc · 3,191 bytesreferences/gaps-tree.mddoc · 2,984 bytesreferences/how-to-guides.mddoc · 3,490 bytesreferences/quality.mddoc · 2,788 bytesreferences/queries/scan-docs.shruns · 4,230 bytesreferences/reference.mddoc · 3,001 bytesreferences/restructure-tree.mddoc · 2,912 bytesreferences/symptoms.mddoc · 3,359 bytesreferences/tutorials.mddoc · 3,588 bytesreferences/workflow.mddoc · 3,494 bytesreferences/wrong-type-tree.mddoc · 3,316 bytes
Read excerpt
# Diátaxis
A runbook for producing and fixing technical documentation with the **Diátaxis** framework. Diátaxis splits documentation into four modes — **tutorials, how-to guides, reference, explanation** — because they answer four different user needs that pull in opposite directions. The single idea that makes it work:
> Most documentation problems are a single thing: content that tries to serve more than one need at once. Separate the four modes and most confusion dissolves.
Diátaxis is descriptive, not prescriptive — a way to *understand* documentation, not a template to fill in. Don't wait to understand the whole framework before applying it: pick one small thing, classify it, improve it, publish, repeat.
## When to Apply
Use this skill when:
- **Writing or generating new documentation** of any kind (README, API docs, guide, onboarding, developer docs) — decide which mode(s) the content needs *before* writing it.
- A page is **confusing, bloated, or "tries to do everything"** — diagnose the type-mixing and split it.