Diataxis Writing

Diataxis documentation framework practice guide. Provides diagnosis, classification, templates, and quality assessment for four documentation types (Tutorial/How-to/Reference/Explanation).

Diátaxis Documentation Framework Practice

Quick Start

When creating or refactoring documentation:

Pre-Writing Questions (Must Ask)

Before starting, ask the user:

1. Language Preference: "What language should this document be written in?"

   • English / 中文 / Other

2. Output Method: "After completion, how would you like to output this document?"

   • Chat message (default)
   • Feishu document (via MCP/mcporter)
   • Local Markdown file
   • GitHub repository
   • Other platforms

Tool Availability Check (After User Selection)

After user selects output method, automatically check tool availability:

bash

# Run auto-detection (script is in ./scripts/ relative to this skill)
python3 scripts/output-handler.py --detect

Check results:

• ✅ Tool available → Proceed with selected output method
• ⚠️ Tool not available → Inform user and suggest alternatives

For Feishu output via MCP:

• Check if mcporter is installed
• Check if MCP feishu server is configured (typically in /root/config/mcporter.json or ~/.mcporter/mcporter.json)
• Test connection to Feishu MCP server

If tool not available:

1. Inform user: "Selected output method [X] is not available"
2. Suggest alternatives: "Available options: [list]"
3. Ask user to confirm alternative or configure tool

Writing Workflow

After confirming language, output preference, and tool availability:

1. Identify User Needs - Use the Diataxis Compass to determine document type
2. Select Template - Choose the corresponding template from templates/
3. Apply Checklist - Use the corresponding checklist during writing
4. Quality Assessment - Use the quality framework to evaluate the final draft
5. Execute Output - Output using the user's chosen method and language

Four Documentation Types

Diataxis identifies four fundamentally different documentation types, corresponding to four user needs:

Type	User Need	Document Purpose	Key Characteristics
Tutorial	Acquire skills (study)	Provide learning experience	Practice-oriented, minimize explanation, concrete steps
How-to Guide	Apply skills (work)	Help complete tasks	Goal-oriented, assume competence, handle real scenarios
Reference	Apply skills (work)	Describe technical facts	Neutral description, accurate and complete, structured
Explanation	Acquire skills (study)	Provide understanding context	Discursive, allows opinions, provides context

Type Details

• Tutorial: references/four-types.md#Tutorial
• How-to Guide: references/four-types.md#How-to Guide
• Reference: references/four-types.md#Reference
• Explanation: references/four-types.md#Explanation

Using the Diataxis Compass

When unsure about document type, use the compass tool: references/compass.md

Ask two questions:

1. Content Type: Is it action guidance (action) or cognitive knowledge (cognition)?
2. User State: Is the user acquiring skills (acquisition/study) or applying skills (application/work)?

Common Use Cases

Use Case 1: Troubleshooting Records → How-to Guide or Explanation

Troubleshooting records typically belong to:

• How-to Guide: If it's step-by-step guidance on "how to solve X problem"
• Explanation: If it's principle analysis on "why X problem occurred"

Template: templates/template-troubleshooting.md

Use Case 2: Experience Summary → How-to Guide or Explanation

• Best Practices: How-to Guide (guidance on how to do things correctly)
• Lessons Learned: Explanation (explaining why certain approaches are wrong)

Template: templates/template-best-practices.md

Use Case 3: Learning Notes → Tutorial or Explanation

• Learning Notes: Tutorial (if containing practical steps)
• Theory Summary: Explanation (if conceptual understanding)

Template: templates/template-learning-notes.md

Use Case 4: Exploratory Sharing → Explanation

Technical exploration, experiment records, and comparative analysis typically belong to Explanation.

Template: templates/template-exploration.md

Checklists

Use checklists during and after writing:

• Tutorial: checklist/checklist-tutorial.md
• How-to: checklist/checklist-how-to.md
• Reference: checklist/checklist-reference.md
• Explanation: checklist/checklist-explanation.md

Quality Assessment

Use the Functional Quality and Deep Quality framework: references/quality-framework.md

Functional Quality

• Accuracy, completeness, consistency, usability, precision

Deep Quality

• Flow, fitting human needs, beauty, anticipating user needs

Common Mistakes

Avoid the following error patterns: references/common-mistakes.md

1. Type Conflation - Mixing Reference content into Tutorial
2. Misplacement - Writing Explanation as Tutorial
3. Boundary Blur - Mixing too much explanation into How-to
4. Structural Misalignment - Reference not reflecting product architecture

Language Style

Four types use different language styles: references/writing-language.md

• Tutorial: "We will...", "Notice...", "Now do X..."
• How-to: "If you want X, do Y", "Refer to X documentation for complete options"
• Reference: "X inherits Y", "Subcommands: a, b, c", "Must use X"
• Explanation: "The reason for X is...", "W is better than Z because..."

Output Methods

After completing the document, output using the user's chosen method:

Available Output Methods

1. Chat Message - Display directly in conversation (default)
2. Feishu Document - Create/update Feishu document via MCP/mcporter (requires MCP feishu server)
3. Local Markdown - Save as .md file (built-in support)
4. GitHub Repo - Commit to code repository (requires MCP github or git)
5. Other Platforms - User provides platform and MCP capabilities

Important: For Feishu output, always use MCP/mcporter method, NOT channel tools.

Detect Available Tools

Use scripts/output-handler.py to auto-detect (script is in ./scripts/ relative to this skill file):

bash

python3 scripts/output-handler.py --detect

Tool Availability Check

After user selects output method, check if tool is available:

1. Run output-handler.py --detect
2. Check if selected tool is configured and available
3. If not available:
   • Inform user: "Selected output method [X] is not available"
   • Suggest alternatives from available tools list
   • Ask user to confirm alternative

Choose Output Method

Must ask user: "Document completed, how would you like to output?"

Based on user selection:

• Chat → Reply directly
• Feishu (MCP) → Use mcporter to call Feishu MCP server

  bash

  node /path/to/mcporter/dist/cli.js call feishu doc.create '{"title":"...", "content":"..."}'
  # Note: mcporter path varies by installation, common paths:
  # - ~/.npm/_npx/*/node_modules/mcporter/dist/cli.js
  # - Or use: npx mcporter call feishu doc.create ...
  

• Local → Call write tool or output-handler.py --output local
• GitHub → Call output-handler.py --output github
• Other → Ask user to provide MCP server information

Language Considerations

Output in the user's chosen language:

• If English → Output in English
• If Chinese (中文) → Output in Chinese
• If other → Confirm translation capabilities

Output Platform Details

Complete platform list and configuration methods: references/output-platforms.md

Platform	Required Tools	Configuration Difficulty	Use Case
Chat	None	-	Quick reply
Feishu (MCP)	MCP feishu server	Medium	Team collaboration
Local MD	write	Low	Personal knowledge
GitHub	MCP github/git	Medium	Tech blog
Notion	MCP notion	Medium	Knowledge base
Google Docs	MCP google	High	Google ecosystem

Theoretical Framework

Complete Diataxis theory:

• Map Model: references/map.md
• Theoretical Foundations: references/four-types.md
• Quality Theory: references/quality-framework.md

Using Scripts (Optional)

Use the diagnosis script to automatically identify document types (script is in ./scripts/ relative to this skill):

bash

python3 scripts/diagnose.py <document content or file path>

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Skill Version: 1.0
Theory Source: https://diataxis.fr
Author: Zhua Zhua (Created for Master)