Docs From Code

What it does

When your agent uses it

• Asked to write docs
• Generate a README
• Document an API
• Update stale docs

Example prompts

• “Use the docs-from-code skill to generate and updates README.md and API reference docs by reading your codebase's functions, routes, types, schemas…”
• “/docs-from-code”

Requirements

• Python 3
• Node.js
• Compatibility (from SKILL.md): ["claude-code","gemini-cli","github-copilot"]

Workflow steps

5 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

1. 1Install graphify and Build the Knowledge Graph
2. 2Read the Graph Report
3. 3Read Existing Documentation
4. 4Generate Documentation
5. 5Write Files, Clean Up, and Open PR

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 62e437a. 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

  Ships 3 files in scripts/ (Python and TypeScript), which the agent can run.

  Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

  • git
  • pip
  • npm
  • npx
  • python3
  • gh

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

• Network

  No URLs in SKILL.md. Its commands use git, pip, npm, npx and gh, which can reach the network depending on how they are called.

  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

  ["claude-code","gemini-cli","github-copilot"]

  From compatibility in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

Context cost

Docs From Code loads about 1.8k tokens when it runs, and up to ~4.1k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 136 tokens; SKILL.md has 745 words of instructions outside code blocks.

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

~136

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

~1.8k

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

~4.1k

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); the scripts in this folder are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from Varnan-Tech/opendirectory at commit 62e437a, republished under its MIT licence (© Varnan-Tech). 745 words, ~1,805 tokens.

name

docs-from-code

description

Generates and updates README.md and API reference docs by reading your codebase's functions, routes, types, schemas, and architecture. Uses graphify to build a knowledge graph first, then writes accurate docs from it. Use when asked to write docs, generate a README, document an API, update stale docs, create an API reference from code, add an architecture section, or document a project in any language. Trigger when a user says their docs are missing, outdated, or wants to document their codebase without writing it manually.

compatibility

["claude-code","gemini-cli","github-copilot"]

author

OpenDirectory

version

1.0.0

pip install graphifyy
graphify . --no-viz

# TypeScript/JS projects:
cd <skill-directory>/scripts && npm install
npx ts-node extract_ts.ts <project-root> <project-root>/.docs-extract.json

# Python projects:
python3 <skill-directory>/scripts/extract_py.py <project-root> <project-root>/.docs-extract.json

# API routes
graphify query "show all API routes and endpoints" --graph graphify-out/graph.json

# Data models
graphify query "what are the main data models and types?" --graph graphify-out/graph.json

# Auth flow
graphify query "how does authentication work?" --graph graphify-out/graph.json

# Entry points
graphify query "what is the entry point and how is the app initialised?" --graph graphify-out/graph.json

git checkout -b docs/auto-generated-$(date +%Y%m%d)
git add README.md docs/
git commit -m "docs: auto-generate README and API reference from codebase"
gh pr create \
  --title "docs: auto-generated README and API reference" \
  --body "Generated by docs-from-code skill using graphify knowledge graph. All routes and types verified against source."

© Varnan-Tech, 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 8 other files (scripts, references) in skills/docs-from-code of Varnan-Tech/opendirectory.

• SKILL.md
• .env.example
• README.md
• evals/evals.json
• references/extraction-guide.md
• references/output-template.md
• scripts/extract_py.py
• scripts/extract_ts.ts
• scripts/package.json

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 62e437a