README Updater Skill

Keep your README current with project changes.

When I Activate

• ✅ New features added
• ✅ Project structure changes
• ✅ Dependencies added/removed
• ✅ Setup instructions change
• ✅ User mentions README or documentation
• ✅ Configuration files modified

What I Update

README Sections

Installation:

• New dependencies
• Setup steps
• Prerequisites
• Environment variables

Features:

• New capabilities
• Functionality changes
• Feature deprecation

Usage:

• API changes
• New examples
• Updated screenshots

Configuration:

• New options
• Environment variables
• Config file changes

Examples

New Feature Addition

# You add authentication:
git diff
# + auth.service.ts
# + login.component.tsx
# + JWT middleware

# I suggest README update:
## Features
- ✨ User authentication with JWT  # NEW
- 🔐 Role-based access control    # NEW
- User management
- Dashboard

New Dependency

# You add: npm install stripe

# I suggest:
## Installation

```bash
npm install
npm install stripe  # Added for payment processing

Environment Variables

STRIPE_SECRET_KEY=your_stripe_key  # Required for payments

### Setup Instructions

```bash
# You modify docker-compose.yml

# I update README:
## Development Setup

```bash
# 1. Clone repository
git clone [url]

# 2. Install dependencies
npm install

# 3. Start services (UPDATED)
docker-compose up -d  # Now includes Redis cache

# 4. Run migrations
npm run migrate

## Detection Logic

### Change Analysis

I detect these changes automatically:
- **package.json** → Update dependencies section
- **New routes** → Update API documentation
- **.env.example** → Update environment variables
- **docker-compose.yml** → Update setup instructions
- **New features** → Update features list

### Section Mapping

```yaml
Code Change → README Section:
  - New API endpoint → Usage / API Reference
  - New dependency → Installation
  - New env var → Configuration
  - New feature → Features list
  - Architecture change → Architecture section

Intelligent Updates

Keep Structure

I maintain your README structure:

• Preserve emoji style
• Keep formatting consistent
• Maintain tone and voice
• Respect existing organization

Add Missing Sections

# Suggested additions:

## Prerequisites
- Node.js 18+
- Docker (for development)
- PostgreSQL 14+

## Environment Variables
```bash
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://localhost/mydb
API_KEY=your_api_key

Testing

npm test

### Update Examples

```markdown
# Before:
```javascript
const result = api.getUsers();

After (API changed):

const result = await api.getUsers({ page: 1, limit: 10 });

## Version Compatibility

I track version-specific documentation:

```markdown
## Requirements

- Node.js 18+ (updated from 16+)
- TypeScript 5.0+ (new requirement)
- React 18+ (unchanged)

Changelog Integration

I can sync with CHANGELOG.md:

## Recent Changes

See [CHANGELOG.md](CHANGELOG.md) for detailed version history.

### Latest (v2.1.0)
- ✨ Added user authentication
- 🔧 Fixed memory leak in data processing
- 📝 Updated API documentation

Screenshot Management

# I suggest when UI changes:
## Screenshots

![Dashboard](screenshots/dashboard.png)
*Updated: 2025-10-24 - New authentication panel*

![User Profile](screenshots/profile.png)
*New feature - user profile management*

Relationship with @docs-writer

Me (Skill): Keep README current with code changes @docs-writer (Sub-Agent): Comprehensive documentation strategy

Workflow

1. I detect changes
2. I suggest README updates
3. For full docs → Invoke @docs-writer sub-agent
4. Sub-agent creates complete documentation

Sandboxing Compatibility

Works without sandboxing: ✅ Yes Works with sandboxing: ✅ Yes

• Filesystem: Writes to README.md
• Network: None required
• Configuration: None required

Best Practices

1. Keep it current – Update README with every feature
2. Be specific – Include version numbers, prerequisites
3. Add examples – Show actual usage, not just API
4. Include troubleshooting – Common issues and solutions
5. Badge status – Keep build/coverage badges current

README Templates

Basic Structure

# Project Name

Brief description

## Features
- Feature 1
- Feature 2

## Installation
```bash
npm install

Usage

// Example

Configuration

Environment variables needed

Contributing

How to contribute

License

MIT

### Comprehensive Structure

```markdown
# Project Name
> Tagline

[Badges]

## Table of Contents
- Features
- Installation
- Usage
- API Reference
- Configuration
- Development
- Testing
- Deployment
- Contributing
- License

[Sections with detailed content]

Integration

With /docs-gen Command

/docs-gen --format markdown

# Generates:
# 1. README.md (via me)
# 2. Full documentation site (via @docs-writer)
# 3. API reference (via api-documenter)

With CI/CD

# .github/workflows/docs.yml
- name: Update README
  run: |
    # Skill suggests updates based on changes
    # Review and commit

Customization

Add company-specific README standards:

cp -r ~/.claude/skills/documentation/readme-updater \
      ~/.claude/skills/documentation/company-readme-updater

# Edit to add:
# - Company README template
# - Required sections
# - Badge standards

Related Tools

• api-documenter skill: API documentation
• @docs-writer sub-agent: Comprehensive docs
• git-commit-helper skill: Commit messages for updates
• /docs-gen command: Full documentation generation