Revise Docstrings

What it does

When your agent uses it

• Fixing docstrings in a Python package
• Tasks that involve Technical documentation

Example prompts

• “/revise-docstrings”

Requirements

• Python 3
• Compatibility (from SKILL.md): Requires Great Docs >=0.8, Quarto CLI installed.

Workflow steps

7 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

1. 1Start with a one-line summary (imperative mood: "Connect to...",
2. 2Add an extended summary if the one-liner is insufficient.
3. 3Document every parameter with name, type, and description.
4. 4Document the return value.
5. 5Add Raises if the function can raise exceptions.
6. 6Add an Examples section with Quarto code cells (preferred)
7. 7Add %seealso for closely related symbols.

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit e3b9467. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

• Tool permissions

  Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

  From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

• Runs code

  No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md (its code samples are python, bash and yaml).

  From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

• Network

  No URLs in SKILL.md.

  From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

• Credentials

  Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

  From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

• Compatibility

  Requires Great Docs >=0.8, Quarto CLI installed.

  From compatibility in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

Context cost

Revise Docstrings loads about 2.3k tokens when it runs, and up to ~4.3k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 80 tokens; SKILL.md has 674 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it

~80

When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches

~2.3k

With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them

~4.3k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from pymc-labs/pathmc at commit e3b9467, republished under its MIT licence (© pymc-labs). 674 words, ~2,272 tokens.

name

revise-docstrings

description

Review and improve Python docstrings for Great Docs API reference generation. Covers NumPy and Google style conventions, parameter documentation, return types, examples, cross-references, and Great Docs directives (%seealso, %nodoc). Use when auditing, writing, or fixing docstrings in a Python package.

compatibility

Requires Great Docs >=0.8, Quarto CLI installed.

license

MIT

metadata.author

rich-iannone

metadata.version

1.0

metadata.tags

documentation, docstrings, python, api-reference

# Preview what Great Docs will document
great-docs scan --verbose

# Build and check the rendered reference
great-docs build && great-docs preview

skills/revise-docstrings/
├── SKILL.md
└── references/
    ├── docstring-checklist.md
    └── style-examples.md

# great-docs.yml
parser: numpy # or "google"

def connect(host: str, port: int = 5432) -> Connection:
    """
    Open a connection to the database server.

    Establishes a TCP connection to the specified host and port, authenticates
    with default credentials, and returns an active connection handle.

    Parameters
    ----------
    host
        Hostname or IP address of the database server.
    port
        TCP port number. Defaults to `5432`.

    Returns
    -------
    Connection
        An authenticated connection ready for queries.

    Raises
    ------
    ConnectionError
        If the server is unreachable.

    Examples
    --------
    Connect to a local server and run a simple query:

    ```{python}
    conn = connect("localhost")
    conn.execute("SELECT 1")
    ```

    See Also
    --------
    disconnect : Close a connection.

    Notes
    -----
    The connection uses TLS by default when port 5433 is specified.
    """

def connect(host: str, port: int = 5432) -> Connection:
    """Open a connection to the database server.

    Establishes a TCP connection to the specified host and port, authenticates
    with default credentials, and returns an active connection handle.

    Args:
        host: Hostname or IP address of the database server.
        port: TCP port number. Defaults to `5432`.

    Returns:
        An authenticated connection ready for queries.

    Raises:
        ConnectionError: If the server is unreachable.

    Examples:
        Connect and run a query:

        ```{python}
        conn = connect("localhost")
        conn.execute("SELECT 1")
        ```
    """

def my_function():
    """
    Description.

    %seealso other_func, SomeClass: related utilities
    %nodoc
    """

Task Progress:
- [ ] Step 1: List public API
- [ ] Step 2: Check each symbol
- [ ] Step 3: Fix issues
- [ ] Step 4: Rebuild and verify

© pymc-labs, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 2 other files (references) in .agents/skills/revise-docstrings of pymc-labs/pathmc.

• SKILL.md
• references/docstring-checklist.md
• references/style-examples.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit e3b9467