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Brief 16

Documentation Audit

Follow the docs literally to find where they lie, then rank the gaps by who gets blocked — and which wrong docs to delete.

DOCS.md4 phases7 lenses~2.3k chars

Free & open · no signup · read-only — it ends by asking · nothing leaves your machine

What it does

You are working inside this repo. Mission: test the documentation against reality — follow it literally, find where it lies, find what's missing — and rank the gaps by who gets blocked.

Read-only pass. Your only write is the report file.

What it looks for

7 lenses it looks through

Phase 2 sweeps the codebase through every one of these, citing file and line for each finding.

1

README truth-test

follow it step by step; record the first point of failure and every divergence

2

Config coverage

diff the env vars and flags the code reads against what any doc mentions

3

API drift

documented endpoints/params vs what routes actually accept and return

4

Lying comments

inline comments contradicting the code beside them (worse than no comment)

5

The missing map

could a new dev draw the architecture from docs alone? What's the biggest unexplained area?

6

Dead ends

broken links, references to removed files, stale screenshots

7

Change history

is there any way to learn what shipped recently and why?

The deliverable

What lands in your repo

One structured report at the repo root — or in reports/, if you keep one — the same shape every time, ready for a teammate — or the optional Studio — to act on.

DOCS.md
1
Truth-test log
the README walk with divergences inline
2
Fix-now list
actively wrong docs: correct or delete, with effort
3
Gap list
missing docs ranked by blocked audience
4
Proposed doc map
what should exist, one line each, nothing aspirational
5
The first doc to write
outlined in 5 bullets
One file. Evidence-backed. It ends by asking before touching anything.
How it works

What it makes the agent do

Every Goal Prompt follows the same four steps, so results are consistent and repeatable — no matter which one you run.

1
Phase 1

Inventory and audiences

List everything that documents this project.

2
Phase 2

Audit through 7 lenses

README truth-test — follow it step by step.

3
Phase 3

Curate

Rank by who's blocked and how hard.

4
Phase 4

Report

Create DOCS.md at repo root.

Get started

Three ways to run this Goal Prompt

01 · COPY

Paste it in

Copy it and paste it into your agent inside the repo you want checked.

02 · INSTALL

As a slash command

Install the goal plugin once — two commands — then just type /goal:documentation-audit.

1/plugin marketplace add GhostlyGawd/goal-prompts
2/plugin install goal@goal-prompts

Or install only this Goal Prompt as /goal-documentation-audit:

curl -fsSL https://goal-prompts.vercel.app/install | BRIEF=16 sh
03 · AGENT

From an agent (MCP)

Let an agent fetch it mid-conversation, or pull the raw Goal Prompt by URL.

https://goal-prompts.vercel.app/raw/16.md
Transparency

The exact prompt

Nothing hidden — this is the whole Goal Prompt, verbatim. Read it in a minute, edit it, or copy it as-is.

Read the full brief (2,313 characters)
# Goal: Documentation Audit

You are working inside this repo. Mission: test the documentation against reality — follow it literally, find where it lies, find what's missing — and rank the gaps by who gets blocked.

Read-only pass. Your only write is the report file.

## Phase 1 — Inventory and audiences
- List everything that documents this project: README, docs folders, wikis referenced, inline comments, API docs, changelog.
- Name the audiences: new developer, end user, operator/deployer. Each doc serves one — or fails all.

## Phase 2 — Audit through 7 lenses
1. **README truth-test** — follow it step by step; record the first point of failure and every divergence
2. **Config coverage** — diff the env vars and flags the code reads against what any doc mentions
3. **API drift** — documented endpoints/params vs what routes actually accept and return
4. **Lying comments** — inline comments contradicting the code beside them (worse than no comment)
5. **The missing map** — could a new dev draw the architecture from docs alone? What's the biggest unexplained area?
6. **Dead ends** — broken links, references to removed files, stale screenshots
7. **Change history** — is there any way to learn what shipped recently and why?

## Phase 3 — Curate
- Rank by who's blocked and how hard: setup-blocking beats nice-to-know
- Mark docs to DELETE: wrong documentation is worse than none
- Every finding cites the doc location and the code that contradicts it

## Phase 4 — Report
Create `DOCS.md` at repo root:
1. **Truth-test log** — the README walk with divergences inline
2. **Fix-now list** — actively wrong docs: correct or delete, with effort
3. **Gap list** — missing docs ranked by blocked audience
4. **Proposed doc map** — what should exist, one line each, nothing aspirational
5. **The first doc to write** — outlined in 5 bullets

Start the report with today's date. If `DOCS.md` already exists from a previous run, read it first and lead with what changed since.

## Rules
- Test docs by following them, not by reading them
- Fewer, accurate docs beat many stale ones
- If a `reports/` directory exists at the repo root, write the report there instead of the root.
- Before asking, present the top findings as a ranked list in plain words
- Report only — end by asking which docs to fix first

House rules for this Goal Prompt

  • Test docs by following them, not by reading them
  • Fewer, accurate docs beat many stale ones
  • If a reports/ directory exists at the repo root, write the report there instead of the root.
  • Before asking, present the top findings as a ranked list in plain words
  • Report only — end by asking which docs to fix first
Keep exploring

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