Elixir Documentation Review

Quick Reference

Review Checklist

Module Documentation

• All public modules have @moduledoc
• First-line summary is concise (one line, used by tools as summary)
• @moduledoc includes ## Examples where appropriate
• @moduledoc false only on internal/implementation modules

Function Documentation

• All public functions have @doc
• All public functions have @spec
• @doc describes return values clearly
• Multi-clause functions documented before first clause
• Function head declared when arg names need clarification

Doctests

• Doctests present for pure, deterministic functions
• No doctests for side-effectful operations (DB, HTTP, etc.)
• Doctests actually run (module included in test file)

Cross-References

• Module references use backtick auto-linking (MyModule)
• Function refs use proper arity format (function/2)
• Type refs use t: prefix (t:typename/0)
• No plain-text references where auto-links are possible

Metadata

• @since annotations on new public API additions
• @deprecated with migration guidance where appropriate

Valid Patterns (Do NOT Flag)

• @doc false on callback implementations – Documented at behaviour level
• @doc false on protocol implementations – Protocol docs cover the intent
• Missing @spec on private functions – @spec optional for internals
• Short @moduledoc without ## Examples on simple utility modules – Not every module needs examples
• Using @impl true without separate @doc – Inherits documentation from behaviour

Context-Sensitive Rules

When to Load References

• Reviewing @moduledoc or @doc quality, seeing anti-patterns -> doc-quality.md
• Reviewing @spec, @type, or @typedoc coverage -> spec-coverage.md

Before Submitting Findings

Load and follow review-verification-protocol before reporting any issue.