docs

SkillWeb & browsing

Gives your AI the contributor documentation conventions for the Atmos project, so anything it writes matches the project's standards. Once added, your AI can help produce website docs, CLI command docs, configuration pages, and action cards, and can keep the changelog and roadmap in shape while flagging stale content.

Available today. Use it from your connected AI after setup.

Add the skill, then ask your AI to draft or update a specific Atmos document, such as a CLI command page or a changelog entry. It will apply the project's documentation conventions as it writes.

Then ask your AI: use the docs skill

What your AI can do with it

  • Write Atmos website documentation that follows contributor conventions
  • Draft CLI command documentation
  • Create or update configuration pages
  • Write action cards
  • Maintain changelog and roadmap entries
  • Check documentation for stale content

What this skill tells your AI

The instructions your AI receives, as published by cloudposse/atmos in .claude/skills/docs/SKILL.md and read by ahel’s review.

Use this skill when changing documentation for Atmos itself: website docs, CLI command docs, atmos.yaml configuration docs, changelog posts, roadmap entries, and project-local contributor guidance.

First Pass

Before editing, inspect the related implementation and existing docs:

rg -n "<feature>|<config-key>|<command>" website/docs docs agent-skills .claude/skills
rg -n "<feature>|<config-key>|<command>" pkg cmd internal

Search for stale claims before finishing:

rg -n "unsupported|not supported|not currently|not enforced|TODO|coming soon" website/docs docs agent-skills .claude/skills

Configuration Docs

Every new or changed atmos.yaml section needs configuration docs.

  • Add or update the parent page under website/docs/cli/configuration/.
  • Add a child page when a nested section has independent behavior, policies, defaults, or command-facing effects.
  • Keep parent pages as summaries when child pages exist; link to the child page for details.
  • Use <File title="atmos.yaml"> for config examples.
  • Use <dl>, <dt>, and <dd> for configuration keys and option definitions.
  • Include defaults, supported values, and environment variables when they are part of the public interface.

Sidebar Hierarchy

For configuration docs, make the sidebar resemble the YAML hierarchy.

  • Parent categories may link to the page for the object they represent.
  • Prefer visible labels that are config keys or object names, such as workflows, workflow, steps, and env.
  • Avoid editorial labels like "Overview", "Execution", or "Runtime Context" when the page represents a configuration object.
  • Do not promote enum values or type-specific parameters to sidebar peers unless they are independent configuration objects.
  • When possible, use folder structure plus _category_.json so autogenerated sidebar entries inherit the YAML-shaped hierarchy from the docs tree.
  • If site-level sidebar sorting prevents YAML-order rendering, use explicit sidebar entries for that section rather than changing global sidebar behavior.

Command Docs

When command behavior is configured by atmos.yaml, link command docs back to configuration docs.

  • Import ActionCard and PrimaryCTA.
  • Place the card near the top, after Intro and any status badges.
  • Link to the relevant configuration page, not just the root docs section.
  • Use definition lists for flags and positional arguments.
  • Use DocCardList for command families and subcommands.

Example:

<ActionCard title="Configure Toolchain">
    Learn how to configure tool versions, registries, aliases, and package verification in your atmos.yaml.
    <div>
      <PrimaryCTA to="/cli/configuration/toolchain">Configuration Reference</PrimaryCTA>
    </div>
</ActionCard>

Changelog Posts

Changelog posts live in website/blog/ as dated .mdx files (required only for non-draft PRs targeting main, labeled minor/major — CI also accepts .md, but .mdx is this repo's convention). Use the changelog skill (.claude/skills/changelog/SKILL.md) for the template, frontmatter, tag/author rules, and style requirements (problem-first framing, no backtick-opening prose, optional cast embeds, no Go-internals leakage) — don't restate them here.

Release Docs

When behavior changes, update all user-facing surfaces in the same PR:

  • Configuration docs for new or changed atmos.yaml keys.
  • Command docs for changed CLI behavior.
  • Consumer agent skills when product behavior changes how AI assistants should answer questions about Atmos.
  • Claude skills when contributor documentation workflows or repo-local development guidance changes.
  • Changelog and roadmap pages when the feature is user-visible.
  • Remove or revise stale “unsupported”, “not enforced”, and “not currently” language.

Validation

Run the narrowest useful validation first, then broader checks if website or skills changed:

git diff --check
cd website && pnpm run build

For agent skills, mirror .github/workflows/validate-agent-skills.yml:

  • each skill has a SKILL.md
  • SKILL.md frontmatter has name and description
  • SKILL.md stays under 500 lines and 20KB
  • reference files stay under 25KB
  • all code fences include language tags

Signals

GitHub stars
1k
Forks
175
Last commit
Sep 2026
Hacker News mentions
20
Advanced
Catalog kind
skill
Gateway key
docs-cloudposse
Source
github.com/cloudposse/atmos